Museo National de Costa Rica

Recently we rode the Atenas bus to San Jose to visit the National Museum of Costa Rica. We had not been here before and decided we wanted to see the exhibit entitled Mega Fauna - Fossils of Costa Rica. This exhibit runs from December 3, 2015, to April, 2016.

 

The museum is located between Central and Second Avenues, west from the Plaza of Democracy, which is also where the main entrance is. Hours are from 8:30am to 4:30pm, closed on Mondays. Admission is 1,500 colones for nationals, and free for children under 12, students, and those over age 65 with cedulas (us!). Foreigners will pay $8.00.

Sphere display outside museum.

What a lovely surprise this museum is. We should have been to see it long before now. It is located in the Bellavista Fortress, built in 1917, and originally a military barracks. Bullet holes from the 1948 civil war can still be seen.

Bullet holes.

 

After checking in at the front desk and stowing bags, etc., in lockers, you enter into a butterfly garden. I always find these fun and so interesting.

Butterfly on my arm.

 

Follow the winding ramp up several levels to the rest of the museum. I won't go into all the details, but you will learn about Costa Rican history, pre-Columbian history, see the recreation of a typical colonial home and so on. We ended up spending several hours wandering around. On our visit, an outdoor lunch buffet had been set up. I don't know the cost as we ran out of time and skipped lunch.

Very large teeth!

The various patterned tiled floors caught my attention ...

.... and kind of made me woozy.

Display of Costa Rican spheres.

Old wooden oxcart, part of a trapiche display (sugar cane mill).

 

The liquid sugar cane was poured into these moulds to make dulce (sweet sugar).

View of San José

Another view of San José.

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Some beautiful buildings across from the museum.