Pará State Museum

The Pará State Museum (Portuguese: Museu do Estado do Pará), officially the Pará State Historical Museum (Museu Histórico do Estado do Pará), or MHEP, is a Brazilian government institute created in 1981 and currently housed in the Lauro Sodré Palace, in the Cidade Velha district of Belém. It hosts a variety of exhibitions by contemporary artists and promotes documentation, collection research, scientific dissemination and the preservation of Pará's social and historical memory.

It began its activities in 1986 at the Tancredo Neves Cultural Center (Centur) with a collection that included donations of private pieces as well as items from other state government agencies. In 1987, the museum's headquarters were moved to Bolonha Mansion and, in 1994, to the Lauro Sodré Palace, the seat of the state government.

The palace where the museum is housed is a fine example of Antonio Landi's architecture and was built to be the headquarters of the then Captaincy of Grão-Pará. The museum consists of galleries, a studio, an archive, an auditorium, a library and different themed rooms, such as the Pompeian, Empire, Renaissance, Art Nouveau and Neoclassical. It also contains numerous examples of furniture, paintings and decorative arts from the 19th and 20th centuries.

The institution is run by the Integrated System of Museums and Memorials (SIMM), subordinate to the Executive Secretary of the State of Pará for Culture (Secult). It is responsible for preserving, encouraging and disseminating the collection in its area of competence, with a view to the development and cultural improvement of the state of Pará.