The National Museum of Natural History and Science in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

( pt, Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência) is the country's main museum focusing on nature. The museum functions under the

University of Lisbon The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; pt, Universidade de Lisboa, ) is a public research university in Lisbon, and the largest university in Portugal. It was founded in 2013, from the merger of two previous public universities located in Lisbon, th ...

. Its rich collections, gathered over more than 250 years, span

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

and

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

. The museum has activities for the promotion of natural history and science awareness, with space for artistic exhibitions, conferences, debates, workshops and courses.

History

Its recent public designation, "MUHNAC - National Museum of Natural History and Science", was created in October 2011. This incorporated the former National Museum of Natural History and the

Science Museum, integrating their collections, the historical buildings of the Polytechnic School, the Lisbon Botanical Gardens and, since July 2012, the Lisbon Astronomical Observatory : The history of natural history collections in Lisbon began in the Royal Natural Cabinet and Botanical Garden, created in the second half of the eighteenth century, in Ajuda (western Lisbon). It was then housed for a short period in the Royal Academy of Sciences and transferred to the Polytechnic School in 1858, with the denomination of National Museum of Lisbon (1861) and under the administration of the Polytechnic School. The second Botanic Gardens of Lisbon, in the grounds of the Polytechnic School officially opened in 1878. In 1911, with the creation of the University of Lisbon, the Museum was annexed to the Faculty of Sciences. In March 1978 a devastating fire destroyed part of the building of the former Polytechnic School, most of the zoology collection and part of the geology collection. The Faculty of Sciences would eventually move to its current premises in Campo Grande. The Science Museum of the University of Lisbon was created in May 1985, sharing the building with the National Museum of Natural History. Both museums adopted new by-laws in 2003, becoming autonomous from the Faculty of Sciences and under the direct administration of the Rector of the University of Lisbon.

References

External links

* Natural history museums in Portugal National museums of Portugal Museums established in 1926 Museums in Lisbon University of Lisbon University museums {{Portugal-museum-stub

History

See also

References

External links