ABOVE: A melted collection in the department of geology and paleontology at the National Museum in Rio de Janeiro
DIEGO VASCONCELLOS
Last weekend, Brazil’s National Museum in Rio de Janeiro celebrated its 201st anniversary—and the first one after the devastating fire that destroyed the museum’s main building last September. The museum had housed more than 20 million items, which formed some of the world’s largest and most valuable scientific collections.
The fire was consistently reported in the media as a “tragedy foretold.” The museum had been suffering from underfunding for years, and the building had critical structural problems. Despite repeated warnings of fire risk, the much-needed reais to make improvements did not arrive on time. On September 2, a short circuit in an air-conditioning system on the main floor caused a fire that rapidly spread throughout the building
“The fire was of great magnitude. When we looked at it, the feeling ...
