The Museu de Ciência e Técnica, a former mining school, was founded by Frenchman Claude-Henri Gorceix (1876). It has an exceptional collection of minerals (most notably a very rare imperial topaz) excavated from the subsoils of Minas Gerais and of the whole of Brazil. Various instruments used for boring and digging are on display, including a drill, diving suit, vibrating table and magnetic separator. The astronomy section of the museum puts on observation sessions.