Biomuseo, Natural history museum in Ancón, Panama.
The Biomuseo is a natural history museum in Ancón in Panama City in Panama. It houses eight exhibition galleries displaying the country's ecosystems through scientific specimens, screens, and interactive installations.
American architect Frank Gehry designed the building with its colored metal roofs. It opened in 2014 as a place to explain the role of the country as a biological corridor between two continents.
The name of the building points to the emergence of the country as a land bridge that connected two continents and changed the animal and plant life of the planet. Visitors learn how this narrow connection allowed species from north and south to exchange and created new habitats.
The museum stands on the Amador Causeway, at the southern entrance of the Panama Canal, about 10 to 15 minutes by taxi or Metrobús from Panama City. The building covers 4,000 square meters, with a public atrium, a gift store, a café and outdoor exhibits in a botanical garden by Edwina von Gal. Allow time for the botanical garden as well as the galleries.
Eight differently shaped metal roofs cover the building, each painted in a different color to symbolize the variety of landscapes in the country. The architecture itself becomes part of the exhibit, connecting form with content in a visible way.
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