Museu de Ciências Naturais da Amazônia

Lonely Planet review

Known by many locals as the Museu Japonesa (Japanese Museum: it's run by Japanese-Brazilians and located in a largely Japanese-Brazilian area), the Amazon Natural Sciences Museum has an extensive exhibit of stuffed fish, preserved butterflies and some unnervingly large beetles and spiders from the region; descriptions are in English, Portuguese and Japanese. An aquarium contains live Amazon fish, including the impressive 2m-long pirarucú .

Take bus 519 from Praça da Matriz; it's the same bus that passes Bosque da Ciência, so you can visit both places in a day. Follow the 'Museu' signs from the stop; it's about a 10 to 20 minute walk. An easier option is to take the bus to the Bosque da Ciência and then cab it from there; to get back, ask the taxi driver to return (an hour ought to be enough) or ask in the museum gift shop for directions back to the main road.