Museu Nacional
The national museum of Brazil
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| Established | 1818 |
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| Location | Quinta da Boa Vista in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Type | Natural history, ethnology and archaeology |
| Website | www.museunacional.ufrj.br |
Coordinates: 22°54′20.40″S 43°13′33.98″W / 22.9056667°S 43.2261056°W
The National Museum (Portuguese: Museu Nacional) is the oldest scientific institution of Brazil and one of the largest museums of natural history and anthropology in the Americas. The museum is located inside the Quinta da Boa Vista park, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, and is installed in the Paço de São Cristóvão ("Saint Christopher's palace"). The palace served as residence for the Portuguese Royal Family between 1808 and 1821, housed the Brazilian Imperial Family between 1822 and 1889, and also hosted the Republican Constituent Assembly from 1889 to 1891, before being assigned to the use of the museum in 1892. The building is listed as Brazilian National Heritage since 1938.
Founded by king John VI of Portugal on June 6, 1818, under the name of "Royal Museum", the institution was initially housed at the Campo de Santana park, where it exhibited the collections incorporated from the former House of Natural History, popularly known as Casa dos Pássaros ("house of the birds"), created in 1784 by the Vice-King of Brazil Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa, as well as collections of mineralogy and zoology. The museum foundation was intended to address the interests of promoting the socioeconomic development of the country by the diffusion of education, culture, and science. Still in the 19th century, the institution was already established as the most important South American museum in its typologies. It was incorporated to the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in 1946.
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