The Science Museum of the University of Coimbra occupies the former Colégio de Jesus, a Jesuit college taken over by the university in the 18th century. It holds the historical scientific collections assembled over nearly seven centuries of teaching: anatomical models, astronomical instruments, early physics equipment, and the natural history collections that were the wonder of 18th-century Portugal.
The Cabinet of Natural History — with its thousands of specimens, mineral samples, shells, and preserved animals — has the atmosphere of an Enlightenment curiosity cabinet. The physics and chemistry galleries show the instruments that were actually used for teaching and research here from the 17th century onward. It's one of the better science museums in Portugal and rarely crowded.