[Three views from overseas: the museum as a setting for educational outreach in the sciences]

During their first visit to Brazil, in 2001, Michel Van Praet, Jean Davallon, and Daniel Jacobi - French researchers in the field of museology - discussed the complex nature of the museum experience. Professor Van Praet underscores the unique character of natural history museums and offers an evaluation of his work as head of the restoration project at Paris's Grande Gallery of Evolution, inaugurated in 1994. Professor Davallon discusses the contribution of semiotics and reception theory in analyzing how an exhibit communicates and how meaning is constructed within it. Dr. Jacobi defines some characteristics of the dissemination of science at museums and points to problems encountered in achieving this end.