<p>Natural history museums are research centers that also play an important role as cultural spaces, building bridges between the scientific community and society at large. By opening their spaces to the public, especially in thematic exhibitions, they become an environment for experiencing science. Far more than mere displays of already produced knowledge, contemporary thematic exhibitions in museums aim to foster public understanding of science and its processes. In this work, we investigated the emergence of social representations from 494 visitors to a thematic exhibition in a natural history museum, with the aim of analyzing the public incorporation of ideas of and about science, triggered by the experience lived in an exhibition that integrates science and art, about the devastation of waterways in a biodiversity <i>hotspot</i> in Brazil. Through semantic network analysis, our results indicate an awareness and traces of commitment among visitors to the conservation of the biome presented. This suggests that thematic exhibitions in such cultural spaces can structure the axiological dimension of science in the general public, highlighting the crucial role of non-formal education spaces in the scientific literacy of people in general.</p>