Museu de Geociências do DER Técnico

About the museum

The geosciences museums of the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST, Higher Technical Institute) are housed in the Pavilhão de Minas (Mining Pavilion), on the Alameda campus, in Lisbon. Their roots lie in the Instituto Industrial de Lisboa (Lisbon Industrial Institute), later the Instituto Industrial e Comercial de Lisboa (Lisbon Industrial and Commercial Institute), which operated between 1859 and 1911 in the Palácio Madeira, on Rua da Boavista, a building that has since disappeared. The Técnico occupied it from 1911 to 1936.

The current premises were designed by the architect Pardal Monteiro and inaugurated in 1936, when the Alameda campus opened. The original exhibition design has been preserved and is considered an architectural reference. The complex includes two museums: the Museu Alfredo Bensaúde, devoted to Portuguese mineralogy, crystallography and petrology, and the Museu Décio Thadeu, focused on geology and mineral deposits.

The collections bring together geological material, mainly from Portugal and the CPLP countries (Community of Portuguese Language Countries), many of it from historic mining sites that are now inaccessible, as well as scientific instruments, teaching material, books, maps and photographs. They include the scientific and personal collections of Alfredo Bensaúde, founder and director of the Técnico, Amílcar Mário de Jesus, Luís Aires-Barros, Décio Thadeu and Ernest Fleury, as well as stratigraphy and palaeontology collections and a sample of the main historic Portuguese mines, with mining equipment from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Highlights

• Museu Alfredo Bensaúde, of mineralogy, crystallography and petrology
• Museu Décio Thadeu, of geology and mineral deposits
• Original exhibition design by Pardal Monteiro, from 1936
• Stratigraphy and palaeontology collections
• Equipment from Portugal's historic mines

Permanent exhibitions

• Museu Alfredo Bensaúde – University museum devoted to Portuguese mineralogy, crystallography and petrology, with the collections of Alfredo Bensaúde, Amílcar Mário de Jesus and Luís Aires-Barros.
• Museu Décio Thadeu – Collection on geology and mineral deposits, with stratigraphy, palaeontology and a sample of the main historic Portuguese mines.

Founded

1936

Operated by

Instituto Superior Técnico – Departamento de Engenharia de Recursos (DER)

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission is free, but only with prior booking.

Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

The museums are in the Pavilhão de Minas, on the Alameda campus of the Instituto Superior Técnico.

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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