National Museum celebrates 205 years with activities this Sunday

The celebrations for the 205th anniversary of creation of the National Museum, of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), begin on Sunday (4th) with free cultural and recreational events at Quinta da Boa Vista, in the neighborhood of São Cristóvão. The program is aimed at the whole family. The director of the National Museum, paleontologist Alexander Kellner, told Agência Brasil that, for the first time, the public will have the opportunity to exchange ideas with members of the board on the most varied subjects. “People will be able to talk about collections and restoration work,” said Kellner. “We’re going to try to show curiosities about fossils, tell a little about the wonderful history of fish, jokes, games. I mean, it’s going to be really cool.” Twenty-five science outreach activities are scheduled for Sunday (4), in addition to presentations by Unicirco Marcos Frota, the Samba group they want, and a jongo circle formed by members of Quilombo Quilombá and Ilé Àse Ògún Àlákòró. There will also be a fashion show and, from 10 am to 5 pm, a special edition of the Junta Local fair, which will bring together around 40 local food producers. Educational visits to the herbarium of the National Museum and around the Paço de São Cristóvão, which is under construction, complement the program. In the scientific tent, open from 10 am to 4 pm, and with activities for all ages, with explanations by researchers from the museum, on topics such as the Santa Filomena meteorite, brought from Pernambuco, arachnids, starfish, species of coastal vegetation in Rio de Janeiro, insects, sand minerals from the beaches, crustaceans and molluscs from the National Museum, marine worms. The scientific tent will have two Libras interpreters who will be able to accompany visitors throughout the activities. In some stands, there will be pieces and replicas that can be handled by the public. Knowledge In the National Museum’s Advanced Campus didactic exhibition, the public will have the opportunity to get to know an area of ​​the museum located in the Central Corridor of the Atlantic Forest, with an exhibition of didactic zoology collections. The puzzle The ax of justice and the transforming fire: from persecution to reparation will help visitors to better understand the old and new Afro-Brazilian collections of the National Museum. Another attraction is the lecture Breaking the Ice – Curiosities about Antarctica, with experiences of researchers from the Paleoantar Project and tools, clothing, animal and plant fossils that populated that continent 90 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period. There will also be a workshop with educational games about the National Museum, an exhibition of a simplified geological map and well-known landscapes in the state, as well as storytelling that disseminates knowledge, disseminates science and promotes dialogue. From 1pm onwards, visitors can learn to use Play-Doh and also participate in board games, painting and word searches in order to learn about the diversity of microalgae and cyanobacteria, their ecological and social importance. The treatment of collections rescued after the 2018 fire will be the subject of an exhibition of archaeological pieces that make up the Museum’s collection. Both activities will run until 4pm. Visits The event’s itinerary offers educational visits. The first will be From the Museum from the Farm to the Farm as a Museum. 30 people can participate, in order of arrival, including children from 8 years old. The meeting point will be the statue of Dom Pedro II, at two times: 10 am and 12:30 pm. The second visit will be to the Botanical Garden – the National Museum’s herbarium – which includes participation in games and workshops for the public from 5 years old, at 11 am and 2 pm. For the visit, it is necessary to register in advance at the address of the program. The statue of Empress Leopoldina will be the meeting point for the conversation circle A Museum made of people – dialogues about suburbs and peripheries, at 2 pm, which will count on the participation of writers Flávio Braga; Ivan Wandering; Rafael Mattoso; and Rachel Lima; and researcher Adriana Facina. Partnership The event that opens the celebrations for the 205th anniversary of the National Museum has a partnership with the Museu Nacional Vive Project, a cooperation between the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) and the Cultural Institute Vale, with support from the Research Support Foundation of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Faperj).

Agência Brasil