Butantan Institute

Hello! We are the Butantan Institute. We are a famous science center located in the big city of São Paulo, in a country called Brazil. Our story began a very long time ago, back in the year 1901. We were started by a caring and clever doctor named Vital Brazil. From the very beginning, our main purpose has been to study the natural world around us. We look very closely at animals and at tiny living things called germs. We do this for a very important reason: to create medicines that help keep people healthy and safe.

To do our important science work, we need some very special animal friends. Here at our institute, we have a park called a serpentarium. It is a safe and comfortable home for many different kinds of snakes, spiders, and scorpions. Our scientists are experts who know exactly how to take care of these animals. They learn all about them, studying how they live and what makes them unique. One of the most interesting things we study is the special liquid some of these animals make, which is called venom. Everyone on our team knows how to handle the animals very carefully and safely, so that neither the people nor the animals get hurt.

What do we do with the venom from our animal friends? We collect just a tiny bit of it at a time. This process is done very gently so the animals are not harmed. After we have the venom, our scientists take it to our special rooms called labs. Inside the labs, they use their scientific knowledge to turn the venom into something amazing and helpful. They create a powerful medicine that we call antivenom. This medicine is incredibly important because it can save lives. If a person is ever bitten by a poisonous snake, getting antivenom quickly can stop the venom from making them sick and help them get better.

Making antivenom is a big part of our job, but it’s not the only way we help people stay healthy. We also make another kind of medicine called vaccines. You may have gotten a vaccine as a small shot at the doctor’s office. Vaccines are a very smart type of medicine. They work by teaching your body how to fight off certain germs and illnesses before they have a chance to make you feel unwell. We produce vaccines that protect people from different kinds of sickness, like the flu, and other illnesses that can make people very sick. Our vaccines help communities all over Brazil.

Today, we are just as busy as we were when we first started. Our scientists continue their important work, making life-saving medicines and discovering new things every day to help others. But we are more than just a place for science. We are also a museum where kids and grown-ups can visit! Families can come here to see the amazing animals we care for in our serpentarium. When people visit, they can also learn all about how we use science to help people. We are proud to share our work and show how understanding nature helps us protect the health of people all over Brazil.