The museum Papalote Museo del Niño is located in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Bosques de

Chapultepec Chapultepec, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" (Chapultepec Forest) in Mexico City, is one of the largest Nature Value Area´s in Mexico, measuring in total just over . Centered on a rock formation called Chapultepec Hill, one of ...

. The museum is focused in learning, communication and working together through interactive expositions of science, technology and art for children.

Building

This museum was created in 1993 by the architect

Ricardo Legorreta Ricardo Legorreta Vilchis (May 7, 1931 – December 30, 2011) was a Mexican architect. He was a prolific designer of private houses, public buildings and master plans in Mexico, the United States and some other countries. He was awarded the pres ...

. He designed the building with geometric figures and traditional Mexican tiles. The building was made for kids to interact, experiment and touch. The ceiling and walls were made by children.

Areas

This museum has over 288 interactive exhibitions, divided into five areas where children can touch, play, and learn, as its motto says. Children become familiar with such subjects as ecology, the human body, science, and music. Each area features exhibitions about an aspect of human development. Soy: Spanish for "I am". Focuses on the way human body and mind work. Themes featured are identity, self-esteem, and knowledge of one's body and emotions. Comunico: Spanish for "I communicate myself". Focuses on the different ways people can communicate with each other, from spoken and sign language to radio, television and newspaper, helping to understand how each one of them works. Pertenezco: Spanish for "I belong". Focuses on helping the children to understand themselves in terms of the spaces they belong to, going from what it is most close to them, their family, to the most complex, the universe, and the necessity to protect the environment they live in. Comprendo: Spanish for "I understand". Focuses on science, comprising physics, mathematics, chemistry and geology, helping to understand what does science mean to the world. Expreso: Spanish for "I express myself". Focuses on developing abilities in creativity and imagination to express ideas, feelings and thoughts throughout art, creation, discovery and appreciation.

Other attractions

The museum has an

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...

screen with a capacity for over 333 people, where educational and recreational videos are screened. Next to it, the museum features the ''jardin

maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

'', an archeology-themed garden where a prehispanic environment is recreated, including a

pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...

to explore.

Similar museums in Mexico

Besides its own educational role, Papalote has helped to launch similarly themed museums in other parts of the country, from which the closest to Papalote itself are: Papalote de

Cuernavaca Cuernavaca (; , "near the woods" , Otomi language, Otomi: ) is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state, state of Morelos in Mexico. Along with Chalcatzingo, it is likely one of the origins of the Mesoamerica, Mesoamerican civilizatio ...

, focused in the children's aesthetic experience through the art. In spite of not having the technological level of the Mexico City museum, features over 300 artwork among drawings, painting, photography, sculptures, installations and videos. In 2010 the incorporation of Papalote Museum will make another museum, The Green Museum, in Monterrey, but this time focused in the educational environment.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Papalote museo del nino Museums in Mexico City Children's museums Chapultepec Ricardo Legorreta buildings Child-related organizations in Mexico