The Museum of Natural History and Environmental Culture is much more than a window to the animal and plant world. It is currently located in the Chapultepec Forest, but to get there it had to face a series of social and political processes. It even inhabited different places in the CDMX. We tell you about it.
Today we recognize it by its colorful vaults that invite us to explore the evolution of living beings and different ecosystems. From bacteria, insects and fungi, to fossils and the megadiversity of species in Mexico, it was not always like that.
But it wasn’t always like that, at the beginning its collection consisted of 24 shelves!
Origin of the first Natural History Cabinet
In 1790 the first Natural History Cabinet was inaugurated. It was located at 189 Plateros Street in the Historic Center. To be precise, in the convent of San Francisco, which is located on what is now Francisco I. Madero Street.
The collection of the Mexican cabinet followed the model of the Royal Cabinet of Natural History of Spain. In fact, the specimens on display were the product of one of the most important scientific expeditions carried out by the Spanish Crown: the Royal Botanical Expedition to New Spain.
What the 24 shelves contained: crustaceans, elephant bones, gold and more.
Each shelf was organized by category. On the first shelf there was a collection of specialized literature on chemistry, physics, anatomy, mathematics…
The next shelves presented all kinds of animals: fish, birds or insects. Next came a space dedicated to plants, followed by a space dedicated to minerals. Gold, silver, copper and iron, to name a few.
Shelf 17 was dedicated to elephant bones and petrifactions. There were also precious stones, volcanic productions and wax anatomical pieces.
When the War of Independence broke out, the cabinet was destroyed and the pieces that managed to survive were transferred to the university of the Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso.
Museum of Natural History: Crystal Palace and its arrival to Chapultepec.
When Guadalupe Victoria became the first president of Mexico, he inaugurated the Mexican National Museum. Cabinet pieces were placed there and the collection increased.
Later, Maximilian of Habsburg requested that the collection be moved to the National Palace, where the Public Museum of Natural History, Archeology and History was installed.
After Maximilian’s death, the National Museum returned and remained until the government of Porfirio Diaz, when it was transformed into the National Museum of Archeology, History and Ethnography. It should be noted that the museum continued to occupy the National Palace.
In 1913, the museum’s pieces arrived at the Palacio de Cristal, what we know today as the Chopo Museum, in the Santa María la Ribera neighborhood. Unfortunately, the collection was in decline and the place closed its doors.
In 1964, the Museum of Natural History was inaugurated in the Chapultepec Forest and the collection was moved. In its new location it obtained an avant-garde museography. Today, part of the collection continues.
Cost, hours and directions to the Museum of Natural History and Environmental Culture
You can visit the museum from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:00 to 17:00. The entrance fee is $38; children from 3 to 12 years old, teachers, students pay $18. Seniors with INAPAM, people with disabilities and children under 3 years old are free.
This venue is located in the Circuito Correr es Salud on Av. de los Compositores s/n, Bosque de Chapultepec. The easiest way to get there is by Metro. Nearby stations are Constituyentes and Chapultepec.