One of the largest natural history museums in Latin America has gone up in flames, taking with it two hundred years of irreplaceable artifacts

A massive fire destroyed Brazil’s National Museum and most of its 20 million relics on September 2nd.

It was the country’s oldest scientific institution and had been suffering from years of financial neglect.

Many of the museum’s collections can never be replaced. However, several countries and the UN’s cultural agency – UNESCO – are offering technical assistance and help to rebuild it.

Students from Rio de Janeiro’s federal University, which was tied to the museum, are also asking visitors to send videos, photos and even “selfies” to help revive the memory of their national museum.

Correspondent Lucrecia Franco tells us about some of the priceless treasures that were lost and why the museum was so vulnerable to this disaster.