Museu Ciência - Science Museum

Category: World Heritage

In response to the need to renovate the Laboratório Chimico building, the Science Museum was inaugurated in December 2006, an interactive space that introduces science to all audiences. The renovation of the building was designed by architects João Mendes Ribeiro, Carlos Antunes, and Desirée Pedro and was awarded the Diogo de Castilho Architecture Prize in 2007. This museum comprises the various scientific collections of the University of Coimbra, distributed across two large buildings, the Colégio de Jesus and the Laboratório Chimico (designed for the experimental teaching of chemistry), built during the Pombaline Reforms.

Laboratório Chimico

During the renovation work, it was discovered that the 18th-century building had been constructed using the dining hall of the former 17th-century Colégio de Jesus. This building houses the permanent exhibition “Segredos da Luz e da Matéria” (Secrets of Light and Matter), which illustrates the history of science through interactive experiments and multimedia supports.

College of Jesus

The building was repurposed by William Elsden, who gave it a new façade to house equipment for experimental science teaching. It was in this spirit of enlightenment that the Natural History and Experimental Physics Laboratories were created in the building of the former College of Jesus, now the Physics Laboratory and Natural History Gallery.

Physics Cabinet

The collection of scientific and educational physics instruments at the University of Coimbra is one of the most remarkable and rare in Europe, having been recognized in 2016 as a European Historic Site by the European Physical Society.

Natural History Gallery

Created for experimental teaching at the then Faculty of Philosophy, it consists of a collection of animals, plants, fossils, minerals, rocks, and models, making it the oldest museum in Portugal that remains in its original location.