Description

Essentials about the National Museum of Brazil in brief

The Museu Nacional da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (National Museum of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) is the oldest museum of Brazil and the oldest scientific institution of the country. In addition, it was the largest natural and ethnological museum in Latin America.

The collections of the National Museum of Brazil

Especially the anthropological department with about 130,000 objects and the paleontological department with about 25,000 exhibits were among the most important in the world. Among the highlights of the museum were the most famous skeletal fragments of the Americas (the so-called “Luzia”), some of the oldest dinosaur fossils in Latin America (including the only known skeleton of Maxakalisaurus) and the meteorite collections (with the Bendegó meteorite, the heaviest meteorite ever found in Brazil).

The large fire at the National Museum of Brazil

And why is this description now in the past tense? In the night of September 2 to 3, 2018, the museum building was tragically destroyed by a major fire. According to initial findings, a large portion of the approximately 20 million exhibits were likely lost or severely damaged. Firefighters and museum staff were able to save individual exhibits from the flames. However, it must be assumed that around 90 percent of the collections were victims of the fire.

Website

museunacional.ufrj.br

Opening hours

Closed until further notice.

Admission fees

Closed until further notice.

Address

Getting there

By public transport:

Closed until further notice.

By car:

Closed until further notice.