Museum of Life

One of the goals of the Casa de Oswaldo Cruz is to spark children’s, young people’s, and adults’ interest in topics and activities in the fields of health, science, and technology. With the world’s foremost collection on the history of Brazilian health at its disposal, the Museum of Life helps the institute achieve this objective.

Games, publications, and permanent, temporary, and traveling exhibits form the center of the Museum of Life’s activities. The museum also stages plays, posts information on websites and blogs, and offers guided visits to areas of the Fiocruz campus in Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro.

Museum patrons learn about concepts from physics, chemistry, mathematics, and biology and discover the history of Fiocruz and Brazilian health. For more information, visit the Museum of Life website and follow it on Facebook and Twitter (available only in Portuguese).

HOURS
Open to the public on Saturdays from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Tues.-Fri., 9:00 am-4:30 pm: group visits only. Call (21) 2590-6747 to schedule a group visit.

LOCATION
Avenida Brasil, 4365; Manguinhos; Rio de Janeiro. Visits are free of charge.

A museum in movement

The Museum of Life offers traveling exhibits, publications, internet material, and extension activities for those who cannot visit the facility itself.

One of these attractions is Mobile Science, a museum on wheels that carries exhibits, games, interactive equipment, multimedia shows, and science videos to the public. These resources travel by truck to cities around Southeast Brazil, where the vehicles become classroom settings for mini-courses, workshops, lectures, and story telling.

The museum’s traveling exhibits stop in both state capitals and rural towns, giving the general public an opportunity to learn more about science and health. Past exhibits have focused on major science figures like Oswaldo Cruz, Carlos Chagas, and Edgard Roquette-Pinto; diseases like polio and dengue; historical events like the Vaccine Revolt; and topics like paleopathology, the Amazon, and marine mammals.

Museum products

The Museum of Life offers online access to a number of science communication publications, virtual exhibits, and other multimedia and educational resources that use entertaining, interactive methods to encourage the public to learn about science. The Invivo website features texts, games, and experiments on science and health. Ciência & Sociedade is an e-newsletter that reports on the latest developments in the public communication of science, science per se, art, and non-formal education.