ABSTRACT
Brazil’s National Museum celebrated its second centennial in 2018, the same year it had most of its headquarters and collections destroyed by a fire. The date preceded by four years the second centennial of the country’s independence, when it should be prominently added to the general reflection and festivities prompted by the event. In the context of the restoration of the São Cristóvão Palace and the general reconstitution of the museum, an intense work was required to reassess the meaning of its traditional “national” character and of its responsibility as the oldest museum in the country, leading to a general awareness of the changes in the national social and cultural framework, particularly for a “museum of natural history” and anthropology. The process of discussing new facilities, collections, and future exhibitions is strategic in this re-evaluation-with lasting consequences for the institution’s service to the nation.
KEYWORDS:
Museu Nacional; Nation; Museum; Scientific collections; Natural history.