Bottrel Tostes, Vera Lucia. “The Museum as a Catalyst for Education and Citizenship: Breaking Barriers in Rio de Janeiro.” (2011)

Brazil's National History Museum in Rio de Janeiro is reaching out to the most marginalized young people and establishing itself as an important partner in offering them alternatives to a life of crime and addiction. The target population for its programs includes disenfranchised children and young people aged 10 to 20--those living in the streets, ex-street dwellers, children from poor communities, and young people from penitentiaries. The educational programs use the Museum's collections to connect young people to their history and their place in society and to offer them job-related skills. By opening its doors to a population deprived of cultural and educational contacts, the Museum has become a catalyst for social transformation and for safeguarding the future as well as the past.