the institution, which is conceived to be of both a playful and educational nature, features an interactive permanent exhibition, temporary exhibitions, 40-minute dome sessions, guided tours of the museum, weekly observations of the sky through telescopes, and has a library with a collection of approximately 2,500 books and educational videos, specializing in astronomy, astronautics, astrophysics and physics.

the museu do universo, features sundials, a foucault's pendulum showing that the earth is moving, and other permanent and temporary displays - it offers 56 interactive experiments which explain astronomical concepts in captivating ways, allowing the public to learn in an interactive manner.

the experiments are divided into a number of distinct areas including earth and its motion, space and time, stellar astronomy.