The project started back in 2001: in 1999, control over the Panama Canal was transferred from the United States to the Panamanian authorities, and at the same time the question arose about the new use of the adjacent territories. One of the sections - previously occupied by the American airbase - was allocated for a museum. Construction began in 2006, but it was only at the beginning of this October that Biomuseo opened to the public - although not yet fully: several halls and an aquarium will only be ready by winter 2016.
With its colorful aluminum roof, the museum should be reminiscent of Panama's vibrant nature, the metal roofs of local huts and the historic canal infrastructure. Located on a narrow peninsula protruding into the bay, the building is visible from afar and itself can offer its visitors panoramic views of the city and the Pacific "mouth" of the Panama Canal.
The duration of the construction of the museum, nicknamed by the locals "the museum that will never be completed", is explained, among other things, by the low qualifications of local builders. The rough concrete of the floors and walls had to be re-poured many times, and the roof with 6 mm tolerances also presented a lot of difficulties.
However, now the museum is not only successfully built, but almost completely filled with the exhibition "The Bridge of Life", which was designed by Bruce Mau. The Smithsonian Institution in Washington was responsible for the scientific side of the project, and Biomuseo became its only partner museum outside the United States.
The museum is dedicated to the amazing natural diversity of the Isthmus of Panama: with an area of 75,000 km2, it is home to more species of birds, mammals, reptiles and plants than in the United States and Canada combined. In addition, the exposition tells in detail about the process of the isthmus formation, which began 12 million years ago and ended 3 million years ago. Its appearance changed ecosystems and climate on a planetary scale: instead of a single ocean, a very different Atlantic and Pacific arose, the Gulf Stream "started" from the emerging Caribbean Sea, and North and South America united for the first time in 70 million years. An active migration of animals began along the isthmus, and relatively recently, 15,000 years ago, the first people passed this route from north to south.
Biomuseo, which cost $ 95 million (not counting the costs of not yet finished exhibition halls), is designed primarily for schoolchildren (it is planned to bring 40,000 students a year there for free excursions) and for tourists, since the cruise ship terminal is very close. Ideally, the authorities expect the "Bilbao effect" from the museum. According to their plan, it should become the same symbol of Panama-city and Panama-country, which Utson's Opera House became for Sydney and Australia.
