San José

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Costa Rica’s University Insects Museum is located inside the Agro-Alimentary Sciences Faculty at the Crops Protection Research Center (CIPROC in Spanish). The museum was founded in 1962 primarily for teaching and research purposes, as part of their academic activities and since then it has been accumulating important scientific collections developed as a result of specific research projects. To accomplish this task, the Insect Museum has established many contacts and interacted with scientists from major worldwide research centers, which has facilitated the exchange of information on the diversity of insects in our country and the role they play in our ecosystem.

For being part of the Crop Protection Research Center, the Insects Museum is related to its academic infrastructure, as with the national agricultural sector, especially providing diagnostic services for species that are of economic interest for their plague status or biological regulator role.

Since its inception it created a space for the national and international community, with that purpose a showroom accessible to all visitors was built, where it’s permanently displayed the lush insect diversity in Costa Rica. It started with 58.935 specimens, now it has approximately one million collected through several research projects. For this process the museum has the support of over 100 international specialists. Collections are represented by the orders: Odonata (dragonflies), Hemiptera (bugs), Homoptera (cicadas), Coleoptera (beetles), Diptera (flies) and Hymenoptera (bees, wasps and ants). They are available as reference materials for technical professionals in this field as well as farmers and the general public.

Currently, the museum receives visits from schools and colleges to show the student population our biodiversity, and in some way to guide students to a possible career specialty. It also has a showroom where samples of insects are concentrated with their corresponding explanatory sheets, parallel to this a narrator. The main objective sought by the Insect Museum is that visitors become aware of Costa Rica’s biodiversity and also learn the importance and benefits of insects in our environment.

Address: University of Costa Rica, district: San Pedro, canton: Montes de Oca, province: San Jose, Costa Rica. Zone postal code: 11501.
GPS Coordinates of the University of Costa Rica: 9.935081,-84.051364 (9°56’06.29″N, 84°03’04.91″W)
Schedule: from Monday-Friday 1 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.
Phone: +506 2207-5318

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Haga click en el siguiente enlace para leer está página en Español: Museo de Ciencias Naturales La Salle en Costa Rica

La Salle Natural Sciences Museum Costa Rica was established in 1960. Its founder and current Director, Brother Eduardo Fernández Bárcena, a native of Burgos, Spain, as a professor of La Salle High School was led at first to pick up some jobs and application tasks and research produced by secondary school students in the Natural Science area, which served as encouragement for more students to become interested in observing and studying the biotic, so rich and varied in Costa Rica.

Subsequently Mr. Gregory Litwin was contacted, a person dedicated to the exotic birds importation from the several continents to supply zoos both from United States and Europe. Some of the specimens agonized in our territory, so they became a permanent donation to the museum during its early years, this fact coupled with collaboration from many people who love nature, led 10 years later with the unconditional support from the Lasallian Parent Dynamic Association, to build the first stage of the building, of 1.500m2, which today houses the collections, turned into an exhibition field of 2430m2, after undergoing several extensions.

It should be noted that almost all the specimens have been dissected by Brother Eduardo, who in the absence of taxidermists in the country and the lack of economic resources, had to perform the dissections of animals in the museum’s laboratory, outside of his working hours, which at his beginnings were prolonged until late at night because at the time, there wasn’t even a cooling chamber.

Currently the museum is part of the educational structure of La Salle University. It’s outpouring of great historical and scientific value, place it as one of the most complete museums in Latin America, counting at the moment with over 55,000 specimens on permanent display. In addition the museum has more than 65,000 specimens in zoology, paleontology, archeology, and mineralogy, including an spectacular dinosaur.

Address: Southwest Sabana, district: Mata Redonda, cantón: San José, provincia: San José, Costa Rica. Zone postal code: 10108.
GPS Coordinates: 9.933386,-84.110344 (9°56’0.19″N, 84°06’37.24″W)
Schedule: from Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Website: www.lasalle.ed.cr/museo
Phone: +506 2232-5179

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Address: Costa Rica Zionist Jewish Center, next to AyA in Pavas, district: Pavas, canton: San Jose, province: San Jose, Costa Rica. Zone postal code: 10109.
GPS Coordinates: 9.937256,-84.117714 (9°56’14.12″N, 84°07’3.77″W)
Schedule: from 10 am to 2 p.m. by appointment.
Website: www.museojudiocr.tk
Phone: +506 2520-1013

Address map: Click here to view directions from Central Park, San Jose, Costa Rica TO the Costa Rica Jewish Community Museum in San Jose, Costa Rica at Google Maps

Costa Rican Jewish Community Museum is a cultural nonprofit institution founded in September 2005. It is an educational, scientific, cultural and research center attached to the Costa Rican Jewish Zionist center (CISCR in Spanish) whose only desire is to inform as many people as possible, about some of the most outstanding characteristics of this ancient culture. Its main mission is to collect, document, preserve, interpret and disseminate the knowledge and the material and spiritual life from the past and the present of the Jewish community in general and Jews in Costa Rica in particular.

The Costa Rica Jewish Community Museum is the product of dreamers and makers, some already left, others are still with us. What this museum holds in its walls, objects and texts are stories, sorrows and joys of an ancient community that has lived and traveled many places and lived many times. The Costa Rican Jewish community dedicates this effort to all the Jews of the world and of our country, to the presents and absents, to past, present and future generations as a legacy of what they have been and will be. This museum will serve as a meeting point of hope and solidarity for a community looking for a better tomorrow, as did ancestors and early migrants. The museum offers a comprehensive tour of Jewish culture in general, the arrival of Jews in Costa Rica and also addresses the Holocaust subject, a subject of great interest since it is included in the educational programs of the Public Education Ministry.

The Costa Rican Jewish Community Museum is a cultural contribution to their visitors, not intended to be neither religious nor political, but to offer a comprehensive tour through the Jewish history and culture. To achieve this task, the museum offers the following:
Overview of Culture and the Hebrew Tradition
With explanations of items such as: festivals, fundamentals of Judaism, ceremonies such as circumcision, marriage, reading of the Torah (Law), the meaning of some Jewish symbols, among others.
Arrival, establishment and consolidation of the Jews in Costa Rica
Arrival of Jews to the country, their motives, where they came from, their first jobs, the former synagogues and the Jewish community today in Costa Rica. Projected in a 10 minutes film.

Holocaust (Shoah)
Brief narration of what happened in the Holocaust (Shoah) during WWII. It shows a survivors testimonials film, which lasts 15 minutes. The journey takes approximately 2 hours and a half, but may be shortened if the visitors want.

The entrance to the museum is free, but you need to request an appointment and give your personal data (and of those who will accompany you as well), preferably one week in advance. The requested data is: full name, both last names (Costa Rica uses two last names), I.D., passport or resident number, place from where you visit and any phone number to reach you if necessary. The museum has a restaurant and coffee if you get hungry (kosher food) and also offers group packages, which must be coordinated in advance.

Haga click en el siguiente enlace para leer está página en Español: Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo de Costa Rica

The Contemporary Art and Design Museum Costa Rica (Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo or MADC in Spanish) is located on the premises of the Former National Liquor Factory, founded in 1856. This is one of the greatest architectural and patrimonial sites of Costa Rica and is located in an important historical area of downtown San Jose. The old FANAL building after a radical restoration in the early nineties, became the National Culture Center (CENAC in Spanish).

The Contemporary Art and Design Museum, founded in 1994, is “an open and multiple space”. To achieve this ambitious idea, the museum promotes and disseminates on a permanent basis the most recent and dynamic trends of contemporary art and design within the Central American region, and its links with the Latin American and international areas.

The museum has 5 exhibition halls, including one auditorium-room and an outdoor space, “Pila de la Melaza” (molasses pile), which is used for multi-events (performances, installations, music, etc). The museum also has a coffee-shop (Room 2), exhibiting and marketing innovative and attractive products by Costa Rican, Central American and international designers. The MADC has a video library and documentation center where you can consult a wide variety of audiovisual materials from Central American and international artists, ranging from documents to video presentations, performances, among others. The Museum also has a wide range of catalogs and art & design books, from the museum and other institutions.

Address: On 13th St., between 3rd and 7th avenues, in CENAC building, district: Carmen, canton: San Jose, province: San Jose, Costa Rica. Zone postal code: 10101.
GPS Coordinates: 9.935831,-84.073333 (9°56’8.99″N, 84°04’24.00″W)
Schedule: from Monday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Website: www.madc.ac.cr
Phone: +506 2257-9370

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Haga click en el siguiente enlace para leer está página en Español: Museo de Arte Costarricense

The Costa Rican Art Museum (Museo de Arte Costarricense) was, since 1940, the terminal for the first International Airport in Costa Rica. It immediately became known as La Sabana Airport, as it was located in the Metropolitan Park of the same name.

The initiative came from the then President of the Republic, León Cortés Castro, who proposed to the engineer and architect José María Barrantes (1890-1966) to design an air terminal. Barrantes merged a Spanish colonial style with a moderate architectural design of great purity lines and exquisite artistic taste. The project was approved in 1937 and the engineer Luis Paulino Jiménez Montealegre was in charge of the construction. The work of draining and leveling the land to support the aircraft traffic was directed by Max Efinger. It opened on April 7th, 1940 under the administration of León Cortés Castro (1936-1940). The building was an international terminal until 1955, when it moved to its current location in Alajuela. However, it continued providing transit services for private light aircraft up to the early seventies. Under the administration of Daniel Oduber Quirós (1974-1978) and the efforts of the then Culture Minister Don Guido Sáenz González, in October 1977 and in accordance with Law # 6091, the Costa Rican Art Museum was created.

The work of remodeling the building to suit the needs of a museum started in November 1977 and concluded in April 1978. These works were made by architects Edgar Brenes and Jorge Bertheau. Years later, according to Executive Decree 17338-C, published in Official Gazette No. 235 on December 11th, 1986, the building was declared of historical and architectural interest. The building consists of a basement, first and second levels with access to large roofs (former viewpoints) and a central tower.

Address: Former International Airport in Costa Rica at La Sabana Park, district: Mata Redonda, canton: San Jose, province: San Jose, Costa Rica. Zone postal code: 10108.
GPS Coordinates: 9.935067,-84.098308 (9°56’06.24″N, 84°05’53.91″W)
Schedule: from Tuesday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Phone: +506 2222-7155
Website: www.musarco.go.cr

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Haga click en el siguiente enlace para leer está página en Español: Museo de Formas, Espacios y Sonidos de Costa Rica

Shapes, Spaces and Sounds Museum Costa Rica opened its doors to the public on April 2002, it is a program of the Costa Rican Art Museum, established by Law 6091 published in the Scope No. 157 from the Gazette No.209 on November 4th, 1977. It is located in the Former Train Station with exhibits in architecture, music, literature and fine art, which can be touched and heard.

The museum’s exhibit program and infrastructure is designed in consideration of accessibility requirements, with complete commitment to the 7600 Act of Equal Opportunity for Persons with Disabilities, published in the Official Gazette No. 10 on May 29th, 1996 and also to Act 7555 of Architectural historical Heritage of Costa Rica. The Shapes, Spaces and Sounds Museum is a nonprofit program of the Costa Rican Art Museum, for training, education and awareness in all the arts through interactive spaces, educational programs and the use of multisensory stimulation techniques. Guided tours for students from 2 to 17 years of age are available.

Address: On 3rd Avenue, between 17th and 21st Streets, district: Carmen, canton: San Jose, province: San Jose, Costa Rica. Zone postal code: 10101.
GPS Coordinates: 9.934625,-84.069114 (9°56’4.65″N, 84°04’8.81″W)
Schedule: from Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Phone: +506 2256-1281

Address map: Click here to view directions from Central Park, San Jose, Costa Rica TO the Shapes, Spaces and Sounds Museum in San Jose, Costa Rica at Google Maps

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Address: at the Tibas Integral Health Clinic, South side of the Ricardo Saprissa Stadium, district: San Juan, canton: San Jose, province: San Jose, Costa Rica. Zone postal code: 11301.
GPS Coordinates: 9.964769,-84.076 (9°57’53.17″N, 84°04’33.60″W)

Schedule: from Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Phone: +506 2240-9044

Address map: Click here to view directions from Central Park, San Jose, Costa Rica TO the Costa Rican Regional Art Museum in San Jose, Costa Rica at Google Maps

The Costa Rican Regional Art Museum (Museo Regional de Arte Costarricense) is located in the Tibás Integral Health Clinic (COOPESAIN RL). The museum is a model in which health institutions assume a commitment to protect artistic heritage and conceive art as an integral element of health. Any unit that provides health services should create an environment capable of alleviating the patient’s condition, with the mere enjoyment of adequate waiting rooms, hallways or other patient areas, people feel better.

The Regional Art Museum dedicates to the task of finding a combination of the beautiful physical infrastructure supplemented with the permanent exhibition of art works. Finding a space of tranquility and peace that should go hand in hand with an education process, promoting integral health together with the most sublime of human welfare project: The Art. The base collections are painted murals by Raúl Aguilar with environment themes of the Central Valley and Tibás surrounding mountains. Nowadays the museum’s collection has works by Costa Rican, Spanish, Brazilian, Uruguayan, Chilean and British artists. The Regional Art Museum maintains a constant program of temporary exhibitions of national artists.

Haga click en el siguiente enlace para leer está página en Español: Museo Regional de Desamparados Joaquín García Monge en Costa Rica

The Joaquín García Monge Museum Costa Rica is located on the north side of the Desamparados Church in a last century mansion built with adobe and “bejuco”. At the museum you will find a tribute room about the contributions made by García Monge in such diverse fields. With a feeling to its century, you will find in exposition personal and literary works that remain immune to time. It also has a multipurpose room and is dedicated to temporary exhibitions, artistic performances, lectures, workshops and painting classes.

Don Joaquín García Monge served as an educator, editor, artist and politician, and is the one to whom tribute is made with this museum.

Address: to the north side of the Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados Church, district: Desamparados, canton: Desamparados, province: San Jose, Costa Rica. Zone postal code: 10301.
GPS Coordinates: 9.898419,-84.065803 (9°53’54.31″N, 84°03’56.89″W)
Schedule: from Monday through Friday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Phone: + (506) 2259-9705

Address map: Click here to view directions from Central Park, San Jose, Costa Rica TO the Joaquín García Monge Regional Museum of Desamparados in San Jose, Costa Rica at Google Maps