Scientists Marie Curie and Graziela Barroso Honored in exhibition at the Botanical Garden Museum

From October 1 to November 2, the Botanical Garden Museum will host the exhibition “Women in Science,” honoring scientists Marie Curie and Graziela Barroso in two galleries. The initiative is part of the free program of the 23rd National Week of Science and Technology (SNCT), which this year has the theme “Her Science.” The event will take place at the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden (JBRJ) from October 27 to November 1 and throughout Brazil from October 26 to 30.

In the Inside the Experiments Room, on the Museum’s first floor, the exhibition “Marie Curie Was Here” features images and information about the Franco-Polish scientist’s visit to Brazil. Developed by the outreach project Girls and Women in Science, from the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), the initiative celebrates this pioneering scientist, who conducted groundbreaking research on radioactivity and the use of X-rays in medicine. The first woman to win the Nobel Prize and the only person to receive the award twice in different scientific categories—Physics, in 1903, and Chemistry, in 1911—Marie Curie (1867–1934) arrived in Rio de Janeiro in 1926, accompanied by her daughter and fellow scientist Irène Curie, at the invitation of the Franco-Brazilian Institute of Higher Culture. During the mission, which took her to the states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Minas Gerais, she taught a course on radioactivity at the Polytechnic School of the University of Rio de Janeiro (now UFRJ) and was named a corresponding member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences. During her visit to the Botanical Garden, Marie Curie was welcomed by the institution’s then-director, Antônio Pacheco Leão, and botanist Maria Bandeira.

The Expeditions Room, located opposite the Experiments Room, features photographs, documents, instruments used on expeditions, and herbarium specimens—pressed and dried plant samples—collected by Graziela Maciel Barroso (1912–2003). Together, these materials provide a thread connecting the different stages of her career as a researcher. In 1946, she became the first woman to pass a public examination for a position in the scientific staff of the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden, where she worked for 58 years. Graziela described 11 new genera and 132 new plant species and published the three-volume work Sistemática de Angiospermas do Brasil, a reference work for the study of Brazilian flora. In 2001, she was elected a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, and her legacy continues to this day: newly discovered species by researchers from different parts of the world are still being named in her honor. Beyond the scientific field, she was also honored in 1997 during the parade of the Unidos da Tijuca samba school, a record of which can also be seen in this room.

“Bringing Marie Curie and Graziela Barroso side by side in this museum is an opportunity to introduce the public to two very different trajectories that share curiosity, dedication, and a commitment to science. They are women who observed, recorded, and persisted in pursuing their questions until they transformed them into knowledge. By bringing these stories to the Botanical Garden Museum, we want to increase the visibility of women in science and inspire new generations to recognize that this is also a space for them,” says Grazielle Giacomo, technical manager of the Botanical Garden Museum.

On the opening day of the exhibition, the public is invited to attend the opening panel “Women in Science,” a conversation about the two honorees and their legacies, featuring researchers Andrea Costa (UNIRIO/Ibram) and Marli Pires Morim (JBRJ). The discussion will be moderated by Marinez Siqueira, director of the National School of Tropical Botany at the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden (ENBT/JBRJ). The event begins at 2:30 p.m. in the Museum’s Multipurpose Room, with capacity for 50 people, and is free of charge.

About the speakers:

Andrea Costa is a historian with a PhD in Education from UNIRIO. She is a professor in the Department of Museum Studies and Processes and at the School of Museology at UNIRIO; coordinator of Education and Museum Training at the Brazilian Institute of Museums (Ibram); a professor in the Specialization Course in Science Communication and Popularization at Casa de Oswaldo Cruz/Fiocruz; co-manager of the Brazilian Committee for Education and Cultural Action (CECA Brazil), affiliated with the International Council of Museums (ICOM); and president of the Brazilian Association of Science Centers and Museums (ABCMC).

Marinez Ferreira de Siqueira is a biologist with a master’s degree in Ecology and a PhD in Environmental Engineering Sciences. She is a senior researcher at JBRJ and director of the National School of Tropical Botany, working in the fields of biodiversity, ecological modeling, and artificial intelligence.

Marli Pires Morim holds a PhD in Biological Sciences (Botany) from the National Museum/UFRJ and is a retired senior researcher at JBRJ, where she works in Botany, with an emphasis on taxonomy, scientific collections, and the floristics of the Atlantic Forest. She is also a faculty member of graduate programs.

Exhibition Opening – “Women in Science” Opening Panel

Panelists: Andrea Costa (UNIRIO/Ibram) and Marli Pires Morim (JBRJ)
Moderator: Marinez Siqueira (ENBT/JBRJ)
Date: Thursday, October 1, 2026
Time: 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Location: Multipurpose Room | Botanical Garden Museum
Capacity: 50 people, on a first-come, first-served

Exhibition: “Women in Science: Graziela Barroso and Marie Curie”

Period: October 1 to November 2, 2026
Location: Botanical Garden Museum – Rua Jardim Botânico, 1008, Rio de Janeiro/RJ
Opening hours: Thursday to Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (last admission at 5 p.m.); closed on Wednesdays
Admission: Free