Panama Museums
Museums
The city of Panama offers a variety of interesting museums,
including the Museum of Colonial Religious Art, the Museum of
Contemporary Art, the Afro-Antillean Museum, the Panamanian
History Museum, the Museum of Natural Sciences, the Postal Museum,
the Old Panama Museum, the National Bank House Museum, the
Anthropological Museum Reina Torres de Arauz and the Interoceanic
Museum of the Panama Canal.
Other museums in Panama include: the Museum of History and
Tradition of Penonome, the Museum of Salt and Sugar, and the El
Cano Archeological Museum in the Province of Cocle; the Herrera
Museum and the Parita Workshop, both of them in the Province of
Herrera; the Museum Belisario Porras, The House Museum Manuel F.
Zarate and the Museum of Nationality in the Province of Los
Santos; The Museum of History and Culture Jose de Obaldia and the
San Pablo Museum, both of them in the province of Chiriqui.
Admission fees vary between $0.50 and $5.00. Most museums are open
from Tuesdays to Sundays.
Museum of the Interoceanic Canal
This museum exhibits an important collection of objects related to
the interoceanic route from the colonial time, passing by the
construction of the railway and the gold fever to the republican
time and the construction of the Interoceanic Route.
Located at the Cathedral Square, it is housed in an elegant French
style building constructed in 1875 as the Grand Hotel. In 1881, it
was acquired by the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interoceanique
to accommodate its offices. In view of the failure of the French
in constructing the Canal, the Isthmian Canal Commission bought
the building and used it until 1910 when it was passed on to the
Panamanian government.
Open to the public from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. from Tuesdays to
Sundays. Cost of Admission is $2.00 for adults and $1.00 for
children. For additional information call 211-1650.
Antropological Museum Reina Torres de Arauz
Located at Plaza Cinco de Mayo in the former Pacific terminal of
the Interoceanic Railway - a magnificent neoclassic building,
constructed in 1914. The museum houses an important collection of
pre-Columbian artifacts discovered throughout Panama.
Open to the public from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from Tuesday to
Sunday. Admission: $2.00 tourists, $1.00 adults, $0.50 retirees,
$0.50 students and $0.25 children.
Afro-Antillean Museum
This small museum depicts the way of life of Antillean emigrants,
who arrived in Panama during the construction of the railway and
the Canal. Antilleans had an important influence in the cultural
configuration of Panama. The museum is located in a former church
in the neighborhood El Maranon, center of the Afro-Antillean
settlement at the beginning of the 20th century.
Open to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from Tuesday to
Saturday. Admission: $1.00 adults and $0.25 children. Telephone:
262-5348.
Museum of Colonial Religious Art
It is located in the small chapel of the Santo Domingo Convent,
built in 1756 on Avenue A of the Casco Antiguo of the city.
Paintings, sculptures and objects used in liturgical rites of the
XVI, XVII and XVIII centuries are exhibited there. At the entrance
of the convent is the famous "Flat Arch" ("Arco Chato"), one of
the most important pieces of architecture of the time, still
preserved in perfect condition.
Open to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. from Tuesdays to
Saturdays. Admission: $0.75 adults and $0.25 children. Telephone:
228-2897.
Museum of History
Located in the first floor of the Municipal Palace at the
Cathedral Square (Plaza de Catedral), the museum exhibits
Panamanian objects and artifacts from colonial times to 1977, when
the Torrijos-Carter Treaty was signed.
Open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. from Monday to
Friday. Admission: $1.00 adults and $0.25 children. Telephone:
228-6331.
Museum of the Old Panama Foundation Site
Open from Monday to Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission:
$1.50 adults, $0.50 children and retirees; groups exceeding 20
people pay $1.25 per person.
Gongora House
Casco Antiguo - Open from Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00
p.m. Free admission.
Museum of Natural Sciences
It is located at Cuba Avenue between 29th and 30th streets east.
It offers to the visitor a variety of species of the terrestrial
and marine flora and fauna typical of the Isthmus. Open to the
public from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from Tuesday to Saturday and
Sundays from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Admission: $1.00 adults and
$0.25 children. Telephone: 225-0645.
Museum of Contemporary Art
Located on Avenida de los Martires, it is the only private museum
in the country, featuring an important collection of contemporary
Latin American art. Open from Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to
4:00 p.m. and Saturdays until noon. Free admission.
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