Os escritos de Giovanni Angelo Brunelli, astrônomo da Comissão Demarcadora de Limites portuguesa (1753-1761), sobre a Amazônia brasileira

O texto apresenta breve introdução à vida e à obra de Giovanni Angelo Brunelli (1722-1804), astrônomo bolonhês que participou da primeira Comissão Demarcadora de Limites entre as possessões de Portugal e Espanha na América do Sul, de 1753 a 1761, a serviço da Coroa lusitana. Em seguida, são publicados os três trabalhos de Brunelli sobre a Amazônia brasileira, tendo como temas a pororoca (1767), a mandioca (1767) e o rio Amazonas (1791); e dois outros documentos relacionadas à comissão, um ofício no qual Brunelli reclama a coordenação dos trabalhos de cartografia (1752) e um rascunho do diário de viagem do astrônomo até o rio Negro (1754). Todos esses documentos foram traduzidos ao português, pela primeira vez, do latim e do italiano.

Charles Darwin goes to school: the role of cartoons and narrative in setting science in an historical context

Science education is under revision. Recent changes in society require changes in education to respond to new demands. Scientific literacy can be considered a new goal of science education and the epistemological gap between natural sciences and literacy disciplines must be overcome. The history of science is a possible bridge to link these `two cultures` and to foster an interdisciplinary approach in the classroom. This paper acknowledges Darwin`s legacy and proposes the use of cartoons and narrative expositions to put this interesting chapter of science into its historical context. A five-lesson didactic sequence was developed to tell part of the story of Darwin`s expedition through South America for students from 10 to 12 years of age. Beyond geological and biological perspectives, the inclusion of historical, social and geographical facts demonstrated the beauty and complexity of the findings that Darwin employed to propose the theory of evolution.

Charles Wilkes, a US Exploring Expedition and the US` search for its place in the world (1838-1842)

The main focus of this essay is the first American round-the-world scientific voyage, the U. S Exploring Expedition, which took place between 1838 and 1841 and was lead by Lieutenant Charles Wilkes. Here, I discuss the purposes of this expedition in the context of the voyages of circumnavigation accomplished by the various European powers during the same period.