National Museum of Brazil facts for kids

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National Museum of Brazil
Museu Nacional


Established	6 June 1818 (1818-06-06)
Location	Quinta da Boa Vista in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Type	Natural history, ethnology and archaeology
Collection size	approx. 20 million objects (before 2018 fire), 1.5 million objects placed in other buildings (after 2 September 2018 fire)
Visitors	approx. 150,000 (2017)
Founder	King João VI of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves
Owner	Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

The former Imperial Palace that housed the National Museum at Quinta da Boa Vista Park and Zoo

The Historical appearance of the initial building and surroundings

The National Museum of Brazil (Portuguese: Museu Nacional) is the oldest science center in Brazil. It is in Rio de Janeiro, inside the Paço de São Cristóvão (Saint Christopher's Palace). This palace is located within the Quinta da Boa Vista park.

The main building was once a home for the Portuguese royal family from 1808 to 1821. Later, it became the home for the Brazilian imperial family from 1822 to 1889. After the monarchy ended, the museum moved into the palace in 1892. Sadly, a big fire largely destroyed the building in 2018.

King João VI of Portugal started the museum on June 6, 1818. It was first called the "Royal Museum." It began by showing collections of natural history, like birds and minerals. The museum aimed to help Brazil grow by spreading education and science. In the 1800s, it was already the most important museum of its kind in South America. In 1946, it became part of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

Before the 2018 fire, the National Museum had over 20 million items. This was one of the world's largest collections of natural history and human history objects. It included important records about Brazil's nature and people. It also had many items from other parts of the world and ancient cultures. Over two centuries, the collection grew through expeditions, digs, and donations. It covered areas like geology, paleontology, botany, zoology, biological anthropology, archaeology, and ethnology. These collections were key for research done by the museum's scientists.

The museum also offered special courses and educational activities for the public. It managed a Botanical Garden next to the palace. It also had a research station in Santa Teresa. The museum also published Archivos do Museu Nacional, Brazil's oldest science journal.

A Look Back at the Museum's History
Amazing Past Collections
- Exploring Ancient Archaeology
The 2018 Fire and Rebuilding Efforts
Images for kids
See also

A Look Back at the Museum's History

The former Imperial Palace that housed the National Museum

King João VI created the Royal Museum in 1818. He wanted to encourage science in Brazil. At first, the museum displayed plants and animals, especially birds. People even called it the "House of the Birds."

Later, Dom Pedro I, Brazil's first emperor, married Maria Leopoldina of Austria. This brought many famous European naturalists to the museum. Scientists like Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied and Johann Baptist von Spix visited. They helped grow the museum's collections.

By the late 1800s, Emperor Pedro II became very interested in the museum. He loved science and helped the museum focus on anthropology, paleontology, and archaeology. The emperor himself donated many items. These included ancient Egyptian art and plant fossils. He collected them during his travels abroad. This made the National Museum the most important natural history and human sciences museum in South America.

Emperor Pedro II knew Brazil needed more scientists. He invited foreign scientists to work at the museum. One of the first was Ludwig Riedel, a German botanist. Other scientists like Theodor Peckolt and Charles Frederick Hartt also came. The museum became famous and attracted many more international scientists.

The National Museum at its first location in Campo de Sant'Anna, today's Praça da República, around 1870

Sala Spix, around 1905

When the emperor was removed from power in 1889, the new government wanted to remove symbols of the empire. The Paço de São Cristóvão palace became empty. So, in 1892, the National Museum moved into this palace. It has been there ever since.

In 1946, the museum became part of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Scientists and their labs now use much of the palace. The museum also offers advanced courses in many fields. These include anthropology, sociology, botany, geology, paleontology, and zoology.

Amazing Past Collections

Bendegó meteorite, which survived the fire

Before the fire, the museum had one of the largest collections in the Americas. It included animals, insects, minerals, and tools from indigenous peoples. There were also Egyptian mummies, South American artifacts, meteorites, and fossils.

One famous meteorite on display was the Bendegó meteorite. It weighs over 5,000 kilograms and was found in 1784. This amazing piece survived the fire.

Exploring Ancient Archaeology

The museum's archaeology collection had over 100,000 objects. These came from many civilizations across the Americas, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. They dated from the Stone Age up to the 1800s. The collection was divided into four main parts: Ancient Egypt, Mediterranean cultures, Pre-Columbian archaeology, and Pre-Columbian Brazil. The Brazilian part was the largest and most important. It showed the history of Brazil before Europeans arrived.

Ancient Egypt Wonders

Egyptian mummy ("Princess Kherima"). Roman Period, 1st–3rd centuries AD.

With over 700 items, the museum's Egyptian collection was one of the largest in Latin America. Most items arrived in 1826. A merchant named Nicolau Fiengo brought them from France. They had belonged to the famous explorer Giovanni Battista Belzoni.

Emperor Pedro I bought the entire collection and gave it to the museum. His son, Emperor Pedro II, later added more items. Pedro II was interested in Egypt and collected many artifacts. One important addition was the wooden sarcophagus of Sha-Amun-en-su. This sarcophagus was special because it had never been opened. It still held the mummy of the singer inside.

The museum also had three other sarcophagi belonging to priests. It had six human mummies and many animal mummies. A highlight was a rare mummy of a woman from the Roman Period. She was called "Princess Kherima." Her body was wrapped in a very special way, and she was beautifully decorated. "Princess Kherima" was one of the museum's most popular items.

The collection also had many stone slabs called steles. These were often used in tombs. There were also many shabtis, which were small statues of servants for the afterlife. Some of these belonged to Seti I, a pharaoh. Other items included statues of gods, canopic jars, jewels, and amulets.

Stele of Raia. New Kingdom, XIX Dynasty, around 1300–1200 BC
Sarcophagus of Hori. Third Intermediate Period, XXI Dynasty, around 1049–1026 BC.
Bronze statuette of Amun.
Golden mask. Ptolemaic Kingdom, around 304 BC.
Harsiese Sarcophagus interior
Cat Sarcophagus
Canopic jar
Lion figure

Mediterranean Treasures

Kore statuette, sculpted in marble. Greek civilization, around 5th century BC.

The museum's collection of classical archaeology had about 750 pieces. Most were Greek, Roman, Etruscan, and Italiote objects. This was the largest collection of its kind in Latin America. Many pieces came from Empress Teresa Cristina. She was interested in archaeology from a young age. When she arrived in Rio de Janeiro in 1843, she brought ancient items. These were found during excavations of Herculaneum and Pompeii. These Roman cities were buried by the Mount Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD.

Empress Teresa Cristina also arranged for more Greco-Roman objects to be sent to Brazil. She even funded digs in Veios, an Etruscan site. This helped bring many more ancient items to the museum.

Detail of a fresco from the Temple of Isis, representing a sea dragon and a dolphin, 1st century AD (Fourth Style)

Highlights included four frescos from Pompeii. They showed sea creatures and landscapes. The museum also had many items from daily Roman life. These included jewelry, mirrors, glass vessels, and oil lamps.

The collection of Mediterranean pottery had many different types of objects. They showed various styles from ancient times. There were examples of Greek vases, Etruscan pottery, and Roman amphoras.

The sculpture collection included many small Greek terracotta sculptures. There were also Etruscan bronze statues of warriors. Military items included helmets, swords, and brooches.

Etruscan caryatid chalice, around 620–560 BC
Corinthian oinochoe with lid, around 600–575 BC
Campanian Red-figure chalice krater, late 4th century BC
Vases
wine amphora
Amphora
Statues
bells

Pre-Columbian Archaeology

Peruvian Wari culture. Anthropomorphic ceramic figurine, 500–1200 AD

The National Museum had about 1,800 artifacts from Indigenous peoples before Columbus arrived. These included items from the Andean region and even mummies. Many objects came from Emperor Pedro II's private collection.

Peruvian Chancay culture. Fragment of textile with representation of birds. Huaca del Sol, Late Period, around 1200–1400 AD

The collection mostly featured textiles, featherwork, pottery, and stone carvings. These came from Andean cultures in Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. There were also items from the Amazon and Mesoamerica. The objects showed daily life, social groups, and beliefs of these ancient civilizations. They ranged from clothes and weapons to beautiful art pieces.

Important groups represented included:

Nazca culture: Known for textiles with animals and geometric patterns.
Moche civilization: Famous for detailed pottery and gold work.
Wari culture: Represented by ceramic vessels and textiles.
Chimú culture: Known for dark pottery and decorated textiles.
Chancay culture: Featured unique pottery and sophisticated textiles.
Inca civilization: Had pottery, gold and silver figures, and textiles.

The museum's Andean mummies showed how these cultures buried their dead. One mummy from Chile was 3,400 to 4,700 years old. It was preserved in a seated position. Another was an Aymara man, also seated. The collection also included a boy's mummy and a shrunken head from the Jivaroan peoples.

Peruvian Moche civilization. Head-shaped ceramic vessel, around 100 BC–800 AD
Inca civilization. Ceramic vase ("Inca Aryballos"), around 1430–1532
Amazonian Ceramics
Ceramics
Plumes
Plumes
Accessories

Brazilian Archaeology

Marajoara culture. Anthropomorphic funerary urn, 400–1400 AD

The museum's Brazilian archaeology collection had over 90,000 objects. These were made by cultures that lived in Brazil before Europeans arrived. It was considered the largest collection of its kind worldwide. The collection covered more than 10,000 years of history.

From the earliest inhabitants, the museum had tools made of stone and bone. These included hunting points and axe blades. Most objects made of wood or fiber did not survive over time.

The museum also had many items from the Sambaqui people. These were fishing and gathering communities that lived on Brazil's coast. The collection included human bones and tools like bowls and mortars. A special part of this collection was zoolites. These were stone sculptures of animals like fish and birds.

Santarém culture. Ceramic vessel ("caryatid" vase), 1000–1400 AD

The collection included many ceramic objects. These were made by various pre-colonial Brazilian cultures. Important groups included:

Marajoara culture: Known for beautiful pottery with human and animal figures. Many pieces were for ceremonies or burials.
Santarém culture: Famous for unique and high-quality ceramic work. Highlights included "caryatid vases" with figures.
Konduri culture: Known for colorful pottery with animal designs.
Trombetas River culture: Had rare stone sculptures and animal figures.
Miracanguera culture: Produced ceremonial pottery, especially burial urns.
Maracá culture: Known for unique burial urns shaped like people or animals.
Tupi-Guaraní culture: Lived on the Brazilian coast. Their pottery was colorful with geometric patterns.

Santarém culture. Anthropomorphic vase representing a seated man, 1000–1400 AD.

The museum also had the oldest known indigenous mummies from Brazil. These included an adult woman and two children. They likely belonged to the Botocudos people. They were found in a cave in Minas Gerais.

Hunter-gatherer groups. Projectile point.
Sambaqui culture. Stone sculpture of a human figure
Santarém culture. Muiraquitã in the shape of a frog, 1000–1400 AD
Maracá culture. Anthropomorphic funerary urn, 1000–1500 AD
Marajoara urn
Ceramics
Statuettes
Marajora items
Santarém items

The 2018 Fire and Rebuilding Efforts

The palace, which held most of the museum's collection, was destroyed by a fire on September 2, 2018. Critics had warned that the building was unsafe, saying the fire could have been prevented. The fire started in the air-conditioning system on the ground floor.

After the fire, the ruined building became like an archaeological site. Efforts began to rebuild it, with a new metal roof covering the damaged area.

In 2019, over 30,000 items from the imperial family's past were found nearby. These included fragments of dishes, cups, cutlery, and buttons. These items were given to the museum. The National Museum has received donations to help with rebuilding.

Reconstruction work began in 2019. The first steps included designing the new facade and roof. The goal was to reopen at least one part of the palace by 2022. This was the year of Brazil's 200th independence anniversary.

Many groups have helped with the rebuilding. The Vale Foundation, UNESCO, and BNDES joined forces. They created a committee to guide the recovery project. Vale provided R$50 million, and BNDES gave R$21.7 million. The Ministry of Education also gave R$16 million for emergency work and projects. Germany donated money to buy special container-laboratories for research.

Many people and organizations have donated to the museum. UNESCO's geoparks sent 140 objects for the future collection. The National Institute of Industrial Property donated furniture. A farmer donated old Brazilian coins. The Universidade Estadual do Pará donated insects. Even a gaming platform, Nuuvem, donated money. The British Council gave funds for educational exchanges. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew donated a collection of relics from the Amazon. Many private individuals also made small donations.

The museum's director, Alexander W. A. Kellner, has worked hard to get support. He has spoken to government officials and traveled to other countries. He wants to ensure the museum gets the money needed to rebuild. He has also worked to secure new collections for the museum.

In the months after the fire, many items were found in the rubble. These included pieces from the Egyptian collection and minerals. Pre-Columbian ceramics were also recovered. Google Brasil created virtual tours of some of the museum's items in 2016.