Resumen de Regulations of the mineral chemistry laboratory of the Polytechnic School of Lisbon in 1889
María Luisa Cordeiro Rolo Laborinho dos Santos Alves
Built “with the thought of filling the lack, in Lisbon, of (...) an establishment where at least the rudiments of natural sciences could be taught”, the Polytechnic School of Lisbon appears as a space where science teaching reveals specific characteristics, and laboratory practice, in spite of several difficulties, is progressively introduced as an important factor in the teaching and learning process.
The works carried out in the laboratory of 6th course –General Chemistry and Notions of its main Applications to Arts– that transformed the old laboratory in the magnificent Mineral Chemistry Laboratory, constituted a landmark in the evolution of the experimental teaching in our country.
The Director of the Laboratory, Professor José Júlio Bettencout Rodrigues wrote very detailed regulations for the work in this laboratory that we will analyze in this communication. In his “Projecto sumário de Regulamento dos Trabalhos e Serviços do Laboratório de Chimica Mineral da Escola Polytechnica de Lisboa” in 1889/1890 he specifies the rules related to the management of the laboratory, like the opening hours timetable in different days of the year, as well as some elementary safety rules. He also details the process of assessment of students.
These regulations for the practical work in the laboratory are very complete, as compared to those of other laboratories at that time. They reflect not only concerns for the good management of the laboratory, but also pedagogical concerns related to the teaching and learning of good practice of the students, and are an important conquest in science education in Portugal. The laboratorial practice is gradually an important agent in the process of teaching learning that deserves to be remembered.
