Megafauna
Giant sloths.
The Mato Grosso Natural History Museum is a scientific and cultural institution in Cuiabá, founded by the state government in 2006 in partnership with the ECOSS Institute, and now a national reference for the study of extinct megafauna. It occupies a colonial house known as Casa Dom Aquino, built in 1842 and state heritage since 1997, the birthplace of two notable figures in the history of Mato Grosso. The museum holds more than 75,000 items and runs a permanent exhibition in three parts: palaeontology, prehistoric and historical archaeology, and ethnology. It tells the story of the Earth's origins and the changes in its biodiversity, and of Indigenous peoples and their cultural diversity. The palaeontology section has about 1,200 fossils, all found in the state, including remains of the mastodon, the giant ground sloth and the giant armadillo, which could reach three metres in length. Alongside the exhibition are a library, an auditorium, a café and a children's playground, plus ten thousand square metres of green space reaching down to the Cuiabá River, and a nursery that gives seedlings to residents free of charge.
Giant sloths.
State heritage.
Green spaces.
Casa Dom Aquino, on the Cuiabá River, Cuiabá
Yes, the fossils, playground and green spaces appeal to youngsters.