Аннотация:This text discusses the non-formal education settings and proposes a definition for formal setting and non-formal setting.It broaches science centers and science museums as non-formal science education settings, under the perspective of the new concept of museum, through the memory of the researcher and a literature review of on the history of set up science centers and science museums in Brazil, with suggestions of pages on the Internet where it is possible to get information on dissemination of science and domestic and foreign science museums.The scientific culture is discussed in order to acute the debate on this issue and to link the formation of scientific culture to non-formal education settings.
