Museo de Química y Farmacia Profesor César Leyton, Science museum in Santiago, Chile
The Museo de Química y Farmacia Profesor César Leyton is a science museum in Santiago, Chile, linked to the Universidad de Chile and located on Calle Merced near Parque Forestal. Its display cases hold old laboratory instruments, pharmacy bottles, books, and documents that show how chemists and pharmacists worked in the past.
The collection began in the 1950s when Professor César Leyton started gathering historical objects from the fields of chemistry and pharmacy, first housed in a small room at the Universidad de Chile's pharmacy school. In 1987 the collection passed to a professional association, and it later became a museum open to the public.
The museum is named after Professor César Leyton, who began collecting objects related to the history of pharmacy and chemistry in Chile during the 1950s. Schoolchildren, students, and curious visitors come here today to see what these professions actually looked like in practice generations ago.
Admission is free, which makes a visit straightforward for school groups, families, and individual visitors alike. Opening hours are limited to weekdays, so it is worth checking the current schedule before heading over.
Among the most striking objects in the collection are albarelos, large painted ceramic jars that early pharmacists used to store their ingredients. Some of the microscopes and balances on display date back to the late 19th century and are still fully intact.
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