The Children's Museum of Bogotá (Fundación Museo de los Niños) was a privately managed

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

foundation in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

, Colombia's capital city, founded in 1986 and opened to the public in 1987. It aimed at teaching children about

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

and

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

s. The foundation operated the Children's Museum in an 8,000 m² (86,000 ft.²) building in the geographical centre of Bogotá, in which over 23 different modules and hundreds of individual exhibits were housed. The

served approximately 150,000 visitors per year — 69% of them children under 11 years of age that come to ''"learn by playing"'' in the exhibits. In addition to guided tours, the Children's Museum conducted

workshop Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the only ...

s, special vacation programs for children and highly structured events for schools.

Programs and attractions

To celebrate its 15th anniversary, the museum invited the most important young Colombian artists to paint a

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

on the museum walls. This resulted in a collection of 42 murals which have become a landmark for art students in Bogotá. Another highly important program of the Museum is the Computer Clubhouse – an international program promoted by the

Intel Corporation Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer components such as central processing ...

and the

Museum of Science, Boston The Museum of Science (MoS) is a nature and science museum and indoor zoological establishment located in Science Park, a plot of land in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, spanning the Charles River. Along with over 700 interactive exhibits, ...

. Computer Clubhouse teaches children of low-income families computer skills for

computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating Film, moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation refers to moving images. Virtu ...

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

, composing and editing, as a means to close the

digital divide The digital divide is the unequal access to information technology, digital technology, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and the internet. The digital divide worsens inequality around access to information and resources. In the Information ...

in society. An introduction to

robotics Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...

is also included in this program. In the outer gardens of the museum, a real Boeing 720 aircraft (without actual function, fuel, electricity or engines) was present to teach children the basics of aeronautics. The airliner was donated by

Avianca Avianca S.A. (acronym in Spanish for ''Aerovias de Colombia S.A.'', "Airways of Colombia", and stylized as avianca since October 2023) is the largest airline in Colombia. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it ...

(the biggest airline in Colombia) in the mid-1980s. The museum also featured a room with a small representation of a city's roads to teach children traffic signs and behavior while driving or walking on the streets.

Closure

The Museum was returned to the city in November of 2017; it was in poor condition after decades of use and did not conform to modern building standards. It was decided that a new attraction for children would replace the old Museum. In 2018, it became a park for children. Its main attractions are now bouncing houses, bicycle rides, and races for kids.

References

External links

Museo de los Niños de Bogotá
(Archived28 September 2007) Children's museums Museums in Bogotá Child-related organisations in Colombia 1986 establishments in Colombia {{Colombia-museum-stub