The Role of Chemistry Museums in Chemical Education for Students and the General Public. A Case Study from Italy

This paper investigates the educational role of museums of chemistry in presenting chemistry to the public in Italy, particularly to students. The activities carried out by Italian museums and scientific collections completely dedicated to chemistry have been analyzed, focusing on the relationship between these institutions and students with different level of education, from university to elementary schools. Several kinds of activities involving students as active agents in museums have been briefly described and some general conclusions about the important role of the link between the schools and the museums have been underscored in the context of chemical education. This study offers a representative picture of the current state of chemistry museums and chemistry artifact collections in Italy.