ABSTRACT
In Western countries, the teaching of science in schools and the diffusion of scientific discoveries beyond the boundaries of the research community began as a strategy of scientists and scientific societies to enable the public to share in their knowledge. Since the 17th century, academies of science have built a remarkable record of pedagogical activity through public lectures in chemistry, physics, and other natural sciences. Following the industrial revolution, in the late 18th and 19th centuries, scientists were called upon to respond to a popular demand for greater knowledge about science in a Europe somehow fascinated by the “merveilles de l’industrie” (Beguet, 1990, p. 10). Around the same period, in the United States of America, professional lecturers traveled throughout the nation speaking on “scientific” topics, often accompanied by elaborate and spectacular demonstrations of scientific phenomena (Massey, 1989, p. 915). As pointed out by Caro (1990), the origins of the popularization of science illustrated the ludic features of the experience of discovery and of explanation that were the source of science’s allure (Caro, 1990, p. 24). Scientists’ endeavors in this field had a well-intentioned purpose, though it was certainly also linked to the search for credibility and social power by the scientists. In this context, informing the public about developments in science was part of an essentially cultural practice.
