Costa Rica Museums

Museum of Children -It`s situated at the north end of calle 4. It resembles a castle building. It dates to 1848 and as resently as 1989 served as the prison for 4.000 men. Since 1994 the museum. It`s distinguished by two half-rounded towers-rysalites and outstanding attic. There are 34 rooms each with different theme. There are exhibits that include a planetarium and rooms dedicated to astronomy, planet earth, Costa Rica, ecology, science, human beings, and communications.

Museum of Jades -[Av.7/calle 9-11]. It is named in honour of the founder Marco Fidel Tristan Castro, who initiated the purchase of the jade collection. It`s on the 11th floor of the Institute for National Security, at Francisco Morazan Park. The exhibit in this museum is the largest American jade collection in the world. There are shown also musical instruments, bows and arrows, an aerial photo of the Guayabo Archeological Site and replica of 14th century Tang Dynasty ceramic horse. Many exhibits come from a private collection of Carlos Balsen.

Museum of Atlantic Railway -[Av.3/calle 21]. It was opened on May 1993 and is in the former railway station building dated to 1907. Contains a display of pictures and documents referred to famous "jungle train". Outside there is a steam engine that was brought in 1939 from Philadelphia.

Museum of Indigenous Art -It`s situated in Los Yoses quarter. There is the collection of pre-Columbian jewelry, art, ceramics, and artifacts. There are also pitch-gold, emeralds, and semi-precious stones for sale. Today the building is used for fairs and concerts. It stands out with wood carvings on the walls and ceiling.

Museum of Criminology -[Av.6-8/calle 21]. It is situated in the building of Supreme Court. There are exhibitions of weapons, tools of crimes, counterfeit lottery tickets and money, drug paraphernalia, also illegaly aborded fetus and black-white pictures featuring for example quartered bodies. That was established in 1981.

Museum of Costa Rican Art -[Calle 42}. It was established in 1977. It is in former building of airport terminal in the eastern edge of La Sabana Municipal Park. There are presented art and paintings from XIX and XX century. It houses two pernament halls: golden salon that depicts Costa Rica history on great bronze-painted stucco and plaster ornament relief murals, and the second salon Juan Manuel Sanchez`s, where there are 500 stone and wood sculptures. On the first ground there is an exhibition of French artist Louis Ferron, featuring the history of Costa Rica. In front of the museum there is the Park of Centenary where are put the monument of Juan Carlos I and ex-president Leon Cortes.

Museum Nacional -[Av.Central-2/calle 15-17]. It is situated on the Square of Democracy. The building`s origin dates back to 1916. Till 1949 that was called Fort Bellavista, and housed the government barracks. Now there is so called the golden room, that was sponsored by banana company of United Fruit.

The inner gardened courtyard is devoted for exhibitions of precolumbian objects, historical dresses, colonial furnituries, presidencial portraits and mastadon tooth. There are shown matates (Chorotegas Indian stone tables for corn crushing). The documents of granting in 1987 the Peace Nobel Prize for president Oscar Arias Sanchez are placed there as well. The court of museum is also opened for public. There are a few cannons and big rounded balls dug out in south-east part of the country.

Museum of Natural Science -Opened in 1959, it`s located near the south-west corner of La Sabana Metropolitan Park, at Colegio La Salle (in the Ministry of Agriculture complex). There are featured stuffed animals, whale skeleton, model of big leatherback turtle, selection of pinned butterflies, tons of crumby fossils and various bottles containing sea urchins, octopi, human fetuses and bats. There is also an Indian archeology display. On the island on the foyer lives a crocodile.

Museum of Contemporary Arts -It`s situated in former National Liquor Factory. There are held international and national paintings, sculptures and industry art exhibitions.

Museum of Numismatic -[Av.Central/calle 5]. Named after Jaime Solera Benett. It`s situated in the underground of Plaza de la Cultura, in the long narrow room with thick vault doors. It provides a survey of the money and coins of Costa Rica and an explanation of how the money developed. It includs the exhibitions of 1000-colones dating to 1969 and examples of the country`s colourful paper money, first issued in 1864. Museum of Gold -[Av. Central/calle 5]. Named after Alvaro Vargas Echeveria. It`s situated in the underground of Plaza de la Cultura and is fronted by the vault doors. It was built and owned by the Costa Rica`s Central Bank in 1982. It encompasses the second largest collection in America of precolumbian pieces of gold (over 1.600 pieces at all weighing in at 622 kg). The exhibits of figures of frogs, jaguars, sharks, snakes, lobsters are hung on thin lines and give the impression of soaring in the air. There are tons of birds of prey and crocodiles figures (the last ones carry the pathetic dangling legs of humans). Costa Rica Indians, 1000 years before Columb arriving were the most advanced in producing the goods from gold.

Museum of Printing -It`s situated in Barrio Uruca and was founded in 1985. There are the collections of printing presses, type setting machines, type-faces and other related objects representing the history of printing in Costa Rica during the last 150 years.

Museum of Rafael Angel Calderon Guardia -[Av.11/calle 25]. It is placed in Barrio Escalante. It was established in 1991. Is housed in an adobe building dated to 1912. Inside are featured the items related with life and achievements of ex-president Rafael Calderon Guardia [1940-1944]. In the years of 1985 - 1994 the building underwent the complete renovation.