For ten years, the Giro Cultural USP program has the objective of divulging the architectural, cultural and scientific heritage of the University
By Elcio Silva
13/05/2022 15h44
Getting to know the largest university in Latin America, its history, museums, cultural and scientific collections is what the Giro Cultural USP program proposes. After a period of inactivity due to the covid-19 pandemic, the program, created in 2012 by Pró-Reitoria de Cultura e Extensão Universitária (PRCEU) of USP resumes its activities with full force in 2022 and opens schedules for schools and groups with at least 15 people.
Monitor talks to students during the USP Cultural Tour. Photo: Divulgation.
The initiative has already served more than 30 thousand people in three tour options on the Butantã campus: Panoramic View, Cultural Collection, and Scientific Collection.
Following the molds of the “city sightseeing” tours conducted in the world’s most important urban centers, the Panoramic View route seeks to situate and integrate the visitor to the Cidade Universitária campus in Butantã. Accompanied by mediators during the tour, the participants learn a little about the history of USP’s creation and receive information about the teaching units, institutes, and museums that make up the campus.
Visit to the Veterinary Anatomy Museum at the School of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechnics (FMVZ) at USP.
During the tour, the monitors also highlight the Torre do Relógio (Clock Tower), the sculptures by artist Tomie Ohtake, the monument in honor of Ramos de Azevedo – better known as Praça do cavalo (Horse Square) – and the monument in honor of Armando de Salles Oliveira. The tour lasts one and a half hours.
Giro Cultural awakens in many young people the hope and motivation to study at USP, and this is the case of Luis Felipe de Souza Ferreira, 26. A history graduate from USP’s Faculty of Philosophy, Literature and Human Sciences (FFLCH), he was a monitor of the same program he visited in 2014, when he was a public school student in the city of Cubatão.
“Giro accompanied me throughout my life at the University. I was convinced to enter USP after having taken one of the tours and in my first year I entered as a monitor and stayed for two and a half years”, he reveals. For the historian this experience brought a lot of baggage. “It helped me grow a lot as a communicator, allowed me to work with groups from the most diverse backgrounds, besides making me value the university more, which is so important for Brazilian science and research. It is a remarkable experience that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”
Visit to the Geosciences Museum at USP’s Geosciences Institute (IGc).
Those who choose the Scientific Collection route have the possibility to get to know a little of USP’s collection, research and scientific production in four museums of the university. The Oceanographic Museum, the Veterinary Anatomy Museum, the Geosciences Museum and the Human Anatomy Museum are part of the tour and the participants receive information from USP’s monitors, who are specialized in the several areas of the institute visited. The tour lasts 2h30 and the groups choose three of the four options.
Luiz Felipe (gray T-shirt on the left) during a USP Cultural Tour in 2014.
The cultural spaces on campus and some of USP’s vast production in this area can be seen through the Cultural Collection route. Exhibitions, choirs, cinema, theater groups, orchestras, and university drums are some of the topics presented. The itinerary, which also lasts 2h30, has stops at the Guita and José Mindlin Brasiliana Library (BBM), USP’s Museum of Archeology and Ethnology (MAE), the Museum of Education and Toys, and USP’s General Archives. For this itinerary, the groups also choose three among the cultural options available.
For Professor Ricardo Ricci Uvinha, program coordinator, the return of the USP Cultural Tour can bring a new look at the university.
“I look forward to the program’s resumption, enabling participants of the itineraries, planned and developed in the University City, to have face-to-face contact with the richness of the architectural, artistic, and cultural heritage of the University of São Paulo,” he says.
Students accompany Science On a Sphere® – an educational tool developed by the U.S. Atmospheric and Oceanic Agency and available at the Oceanographic Museum, at USP’s Oceanographic Institute (IO).
Schedules
With more than 30 thousand people attended, the Panoramic View, Cultural Collection, and Scientific Collection tours take place from Tuesday to Friday on the Butantã campus at two times: 10am and 2pm. To schedule a visit, those interested need to contact the Cultural Tour from Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm, by phone (11) 3091-1190 or by e-mail girocultural@usp.br. The tours in 2022 receive groups with a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 40 people.
In May and June, schools from Paraty and Macaé, in Rio de Janeiro, Jaraguá do Sul, in Santa Catarina, and from cities in São Paulo such as Mogi das Cruzes, Cabreúva, Taboão da Serra, Suzano, Franco da Rocha, Itapetininga, Embu das Artes, Pedreira, Iguape, Bauru, Santos, Praia Grande, Osasco, and São Paulo closed the months’ agenda. The agenda for July onwards is open and, considering the volume of requests, for the planning of schools and groups it is advisable to schedule at least two months in advance.
Service
USP Cultural Tours
Itineraries: Panoramic View | Scientific Collection | Cultural Collection
Registration
The Cultural Tour USP is available for groups to schedule, from Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm. Telephone: (11) 3091-1190. E-mail: girocultural@usp.br
The tours are subject to confirmation by the Cultural Tour team.
How much | Free of charge
When | Open enrollment
Groups | Minimum of 15 and maximum of 40 people
The meeting point for the groups is Gate 10 of USP’s Sports Practice Center – CEPEUSP, located at Avenida Mello Moraes, 661, Cidade Universitária – Butantã.
Website: www.prceu.usp.br/girocultural
Facebook: www.fb.com/giroculturalUSP
Instagram: www.instagram.com/giroculturalusp