Resumo A Casa da Ciência é um centro cultural de divulgação científica da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro que tem como objetivo despertar a curiosidade por meio das relações entre ciência, arte e cultura. Utiliza diferentes linguagens, de forma lúdica e interativa, para discutir os conceitos da ciência, proporcionando sua popularização. Este artigo, de caráter bibliográfico e exploratório, aborda os aspectos históricos relativos à criação da instituição, seu funcionamento e financiamento. Traça também um breve histórico da divulgação científica brasileira contemporânea. O trabalho inclui uma reflexão sobre a Política Cultural, Artística e de Difusão Científico-Cultural para a implantação do Sistema Integrado de Museus, Acervos e Patrimônio da universidade. Aponta para as dificuldades dos processos de institucionalização desses espaços.

Abstract The Casa da Ciência at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro is a cultural center meant to stir curiosity by connecting science, art, and culture. Different languages are used in an entertaining and interactive manner to discuss and popularize scientific concepts. This bibliographical and exploratory article addresses the historical aspects around the creation of the institution, its function, and its funding. It also provides a brief history of contemporary scientific dissemination in Brazil. A reflection on cultural, artistic and scientific/cultural policy for the implementation of the university’s integrated system for museums, collections, and university heritage is also included, and indicates the difficulties in the processes of institutionalizing these spaces.

Resumo O farmacêutico Theodoro Peckolt é uma das mais importantes figuras da história da química de produtos naturais brasileira. Como outros farmacêuticos do século XIX que atuavam no Brasil, desenvolveu formulações que comercializava em sua farmácia, localizada no Rio de Janeiro, e que tiveram grande prestígio junto à população e à classe médica. O texto apresenta a relação entre a doença identificada inicialmente como opilação e a terapêutica utilizada no século XIX, destacando uma das formulações da Farmácia Peckolt – “Pós de doliarina e ferro”. O produto tem sua origem no látex da espécie Ficus gomelleira(figueira-branca ou gameleira). O artigo tem entre seus objetivos revelar a composição química, feita por métodos modernos de análise do látex deFicus gomelleira.

Abstract The pharmacist Theodoro Peckolt was one of the most important figures in the history of the chemistry of natural Brazilian products. Like other nineteenth-century pharmacists in Brazil, he developed formulations and sold them at his pharmacy in Rio de Janeiro, and these enjoyed great prestige in the eyes both of the public and the medical community. The article discusses the relation between the illness originally called “opilação” (ancylostomiasis, or hookworm) and nineteenth-century treatment. It focuses especially on Peckolt Pharmacy’s “Doliarina and iron powder,” a formulation extracted from the Ficus gomelleira rubber plant. One of the article’s goals is to use modern methods to analyze Ficus gomelleira and identify the chemical composition of the drug.

Chemistry gradually became a discipline in a number of institutions in Brazil after the arrival of the Portuguese court in 1808. The first of these was the Royal Military Academy in Rio de Janeiro, founded by the Prince Regent in 1810. Due to lack of local personnel for the post of Professor of Chemistry the British chemist Daniel Gardner was hired. He occupied that chair until his retirement in 1825. In this article we discuss the circumstances involving the creation of that chair, its occupant and the contents of his course.

This work intends to present the history of top-level Chemistry education in Rio de Janeiro. It's important to rescue the history of Chemistry Institute of Federal University of Rio de Janeiro since 1959. It's also important to understand the incorporation of two undergraduate courses: Chemistry and Chemistry bachelor's degree. It covers historical background of Chemistry education in old National Faculty of Philosophy, considering power disputes between Industrial Chemistry Course and Chemical Engineering; when and in which circumstances the Institute was created; political context and its relation with postgraduate. Finally, discuss the incorporation of undergraduate courses and curriculum modifications since 1968.

This article presents a sample of the activities of apothecary Ezequiel Corrêa dos Santos. He was notable not only for his professional career, but also for his political militancy, making an important contribution to the development of pharmaceutical sciences in Brazil, in the XIXth century.

This work presents a brief retrospective of José de Freitas Machado's prominent role in the creation, development and consolidation of Chemistry undergraduate courses in Brazil. Freitas Machado defended in many occasions the importance of chemical studies for the economic development of this country. We analyze, here, his important paper "Façamos Químicos" [Let's Make Chemists] (1917), seminal for the implantation of Industrial Chemistry undergraduate courses in Brazil.

Este trabalho descreve, analisa e avalia a produção científica de Theodoro Peckolt, naturalista e farmacêutico alemão, e sua contribuição decisiva para o desenvolvimento da fitoquímica no Brasil. Suas realizações são discutidas tendo como pano de fundo o meio cultural e científico do século XIX, compondo o seu legado e influência nas ciências brasileiras.

The article describes, analyzes, and evaluates the scientific production of Theodoro Peckolt, a German naturalist and pharmacist who made a decisive contribution to the development of phytochemistry in Brazil. His achievements are discussed against the backdrop of the nineteenth-century cultural and scientific milieu, revealing his legacy and influence in the Brazilian sciences.

Until the present date, historians of science have described inaccurately the first laboratory created in Brazil for establishing and divulging Chemistry, namely the "Laboratório Químico-Prático do Rio de Janeiro". During recent research carried out in the Arquivo do Museu Imperial (Petrópolis, RJ), I localized a document entitled "Ensaio histórico analítico das operações do Laboratório Químico-Prático do Rio de Janeiro", which allowed me to gain the relevant information to correct some of the observations made in the first chronicles.

Wilhelm Michler lived in Brazil for seven years from 1882 to 1889, when he died. Here, he published several articles on natural products, and became a professor of Industrial Chemistry at the Escola Politécnica, in Rio de Janeiro. He was respected by colleagues and students. This article addresses this poorly known period of the life of a scientist, world-famous by the aromatic ketone that carries his name.

In this paper we briefly describe the scientific career of Theodor Peckolt, naturalist and pharmacist, and his seminal contribution to the development of phytochemistry in Brazil. His achievements are discussed in the light of the historical background of the Brazilian science and University at his time.