On Sunday, September 2nd, The National Museum of Brazil, located in Rio de Janeiro, went up in flames. The fire started at around 7:30 pm and damaged various artifacts that were found around the world. The cause of the fire is still unknown.  

 The museum, which is 200 years old, was home to over 20 million historical artifacts. It displayed the oldest human skull ever found in Brazil, along with works from the pre-Columbian era and ancient Egypt. A lot of the entomology collection was destroyed, including specimens that no other museum had preserved.  Pottery, masks, featherworks, and other relics that belonged to indigenous people in South America were also burned in the fire. Many people across Brazil are mourning the loss of the artifacts and are even holding protests because the government refused to update fire maintenance for the museum.