University of São Paulo: Digital timeline shows the history of the Ipiranga Museum and the evolution of restoration works

The Museu do Ipiranga has just launched a digital timeline , with videos, audio, images and historical archives. Through an interactive platform, it is possible to explore the facts that marked the independence of Brazil and the construction of the Monument Building, as well as the evolution of the current restoration and expansion works at the site. The feature allows the user to see the backstage of the museum and the care given to the collection during this period when it remains closed.

Developed in partnership with the Timelinefy platform , the museum’s timeline is divided into three moments: the main historical facts involving the Independence of Brazil and the construction of the museum; the chronology of the expansion and restoration works of the Monument Building; the care with the collection during the works. As the work progresses, the timeline will be updated periodically until completion.


Solange Ferraz de Lima, president of the Culture and Extension Committee of the Ipiranga Museum – Photo: Marcos Santos/USP Images
Through audiovisual resources and tools for connecting the lines, the platform makes it possible to understand the relationships between past and present events, connecting the history of the country, the museum, the collection and current works in an interactive experience. The timeline has accessibility features such as pounds and audio description.

“Over the almost ten years it has been closed, the Ipiranga Museum has carried out numerous activities on different fronts. Now, already counting down to the reopening, it is essential that we return to this memory”, comments professor Solange Ferraz de Lima, president of the Culture and Extension Committee of the Ipiranga Museum. “With the timeline, the public will have the opportunity to understand in depth the trajectory of this restoration project that is unprecedented in Brazil, as well as the different fronts that make up the Novo Museu do Ipiranga”, he concludes.

All content was brought together through careful research work, coordinated by the museum’s teams. Research coordination was carried out by researcher Clara Sampaio, from the Timelinefy team , responsible for production. For Clara, “the project makes possible an appreciation and consolidation of memory and heritage, as it expands access to this history. At the same time, it will also contribute to diversifying the experience of visitors, who will get to know some of the main transformations that the museum has undergone over the past two centuries.”

The timeline of the Museu do Ipiranga is one of the several actions in the schedule that precedes the museum’s reopening, scheduled for September 2022, on the Bicentennial of Independence.

Closed since 2013, the Museu do Ipiranga is the headquarters of the São Paulo Museum of the University of São Paulo, and continued to be active with events, courses, lectures and workshops in various areas of the city. The museum’s restoration, expansion and modernization works are financed through the Culture Incentive Law. The management of the New Museum of Ipiranga Project is shared by the Management Committee of the Ipiranga Museum 2022, by the direction of the Museu Paulista and by the Support Foundation for USP (FUSP).

70% of the restoration work on the monument building has been completed by the Ipiranga Museum
The building, listed as municipal, state and federal historical heritage, was built between 1885 and 1890 and is located within the Parque Independência complex. Originally conceived as a monument to independence, in 1895 it became the headquarters of the State Museum, created two years earlier, being the oldest public museum in São Paulo and one of the oldest in the country. It has been, since 1963, under the administration of USP, serving the functions of teaching, research and extension, the University’s pillars of action.