Casa Rosada Museum: A Modern Museum in the City’s 1st Fort

Just around the corner from the Plaza de Mayo is the sleek Casa Rosada Museum. This museum was built in 2010 and originally called the Bicentenary Museum to commemorate 200 years since the start of the revolution that led to Argentina’s independence.

The sprawling museum is below street level, and lies on the spot where the first fort in Buenos Aires was built in 1580. The original brickwork is still visible in the museum and makes for a stunning reminder of the building’s history.

Historical Videos in the Casada Rosada Museum

Inside the museum visitors can watch Spanish-language videos of different periods of Argentine history. Important artifacts such as clothing and objects of some of Argentina’s most popular political figures such as Eva and Juan Perón are also on display.

Non-Spanish speakers may find themselves a little lost by the videos, but they shouldn’t feel bad. Even for those with a vague idea of Argentine history might find it difficult to fully understand which liberator was which, and which coup happened when – which serves to highlight Argentina’s complicated political history.

The museum ends on a patriotic hopeful note, with footage of the late Nestor Kirchner and videos, which emphasize the changes he made during his presidency. The message seems to be ‘Everything is okay now, we’ve sorted out all the country’s problems.’

Interestingly, no extra footage or objects have been added since Nestor’s death nor of his wife, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s presidency.

Plaza de Mayo Through the Years

Close to the entrance a video shows images of the Plaza de Mayo changing over the years, which is accessible for non-Spanish speakers and gives a visual insight into historical changes in the square.

A principle point of interest at the Casa Rosada Museum is the 1933 mural Ejercicio plástico, by Mexican, David Aflaro Siqueiros. It was originally painted in journalist Natalia Botano’s basement, and excavated in its entirety to the museum.

There are also retro cars and temporary exhibitions concerning Argentine figures and history plus a traditional patisserie and coffee shop.

The architecturally impressive, if propagandist, museum is worth a stroll through after taking in the Casa Rosada tour around the corner. -Rosie Hilder

Casa Rosada/Bicentenary Museum
Paseo Colón 100
Tel: 4344-3802
Hours: Weds – Sun & holidays:
(April-Nov) 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
(Dec – March) 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

• Entrance: free
• Spanish language only

Take a Virtual Stroll through MALBA

The Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA) is one of the premier museums in Argentina and all of Latin America. Here you can see a mashup of mostly 20th century European-influenced Latin American art including cubist, surrealist, abstract and kinetic artworks.

Take a video tour of the Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires (MALBA) with your’s truly and MALBA’s Florencia González.

Gun-Ho! — The National Arms Museum

One of the largest arms collections in all of South America, the National Arms Museum of Buenos Aires is stocked with over 2,000 weapons and artifacts ranging from ancient armor to pistols to canons.

A project started in 1904 under Argentine president Julio Roca and Minister of War Pablo Ricchieri, the Museo de las Armas de la Nación, overlooks Plaza San Martín. The historic landmark building is an ornate example of the Renaissance-inspired architecture that gives the Retiro neighborhood its European flavor.

The sprawling 18-room mansion, originally known as ‘Palacio Paz,’ was built for the Paz family, founders of La Prensa newspaper. In 1938, the society of ex-military officers, Círculo Militar, purchased the building.

Inside the Arms Museum

From the richly decorated swords of 12th century noblemen to the advanced assault rifles of today, the objects featured in this museum reveal the nation’s history through its iconic leaders, difficult battles and military technological advances.

Two imposing engraved suits of armor guard the entrance into the first room of the exhibition where visitors are introduced to relics from various countries including ancient crossbows, shields, breastplates and chain mail.

A room named after José de San Martín, everyone’s favorite Argentine hero credited with liberating Argentina from the Spanish, features historical firearms dating to the settlement of Buenos Aires in 1536.

An exhibition dedicated to the Falklands/Malvinas War displays the uniforms, equipment, and weapons used during the bitter conflict over the sovereignty of the islands, such as the Argentine manufactured light automatic rifle as well as model fighters and cruisers lost during the war.

A room dedicated to Asian weaponry is dominated by figures of soldiers clothed in elaborate ceremonial armor wielding Samurai swords. This part of the collection includes weapons from Southeast Asia, China, Turkey, Persia and India.

Fancy Guns, Toy Soldiers & Equine Gasmasks

History majors and war buffs will enjoy the ‘Hall of Arts,’ dedicated to battle artifacts and the decorated guns of Argentina’s past presidents.

The younger crowd will enjoy the miniature toy soldier exhibition of various military uniforms throughout history. Another curiosity are the custom-designed horse gas masks.

Beyond the Artifacts – Tours & Courses

Guided tours are available upon request as are annual courses on topics such as, ‘History and Technical Evolution of Weapons.’ Visit the Círculo Militar website for more details. — by Valerie Sarron
The National Arms Museum —$
Santa Fe 702
Retiro
Tel: 4311-1071/79 –ext. 179

• Hours: Monday to Friday from 1:00-7:00 p.m.
• Entrance Fee: AR -$

Dancing through Time: The World Tango Museum

Above the illustrious watering-hole, Café Tortoni is another site of interest that is saturated with Argentine history but often overlooked: The World Tango Museum.

Sponsored by the National Academy of Tango, El Museo Mundial del Tango provides a comprehensive overview of Argentina’s most cherished artistic export.

“The Tango: from today to its initial roots, it has been a century and a half of dreams, nights, encounters, corners and solitudes, of apogee and of crisis. Ten generations have lived its stories, legends and anecdotes, creating and appreciating its poems, songs, the jewels of orchestration, the artistry of its dancers.”
— Horacio Ferrer, two-time Nobel Prize nominee and founder of the World Tango Museum.

→ Check out Tango Shows & Activities in Buenos Aires

The Tour: Inside the World Tango Museum

The 1880’s mansion on Avenida de Mayo recalls Buenos Aires’ own Belle Époque, with details such as a wrought-iron elevator, ornate ceilings and antique chandeliers.

Comprised of only a few rooms, the museum can be separated into three distinct sections.

The first contains chronologically-arranged glass cabinets that explain the evolution of the tango from its early roots in the 1850’s until today.

Each ‘tango time capsule’ covers a span of fifteen years, with a detailed history of the dance in that time period and artifacts of the era.

This part of the exhibition is loaded with information but visitors may be distracted by the abundance of memorabilia in the cabinets, including a dilapidated pair of dancing shoes from the 1920’s or one of the token fedoras worn by tango’s golden boy turned tragic hero, Carlos Gardel.

After the journey through tango’s history, visitors can make their way into the hall of tango’s legendary figures. This room in the museum serves as a tribute to the creators of the tango, including famous singers, dancers and lyricists.

Relics include records, photographs and clothing. Overlooking the space are the faces of tango’s greatest names in large black and white posters.

Occasional performances by local tango legends and up-and-coming players take place at a small stage at the end of the hall.

Since its birth in the dim street corners of La Boca, the tango has inspired artistic expression in every part of Argentine culture.

The tango museum’s final section pays homage to tango’s influence on other arts such as poetry, theater and cinema.

Here visitors can see a mélange of objects ranging from colorful paintings, sculptures, and sketches to antique instruments, including Argentine composer Agustín Bardi’s piano.

For those looking for a more hands-on way of learning about the tango, The National Academy of Tango offers dance classes for students of all levels. — Valerie Sarron

El Museo Mundial del Tango
Av. De Mayo 833 1 piso
Buenos Aires
Tel: 4345-6967/68

• Museum Hours:
Mon – Fri: 2:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
-Entrance: $
-Wednesdays free for seniors and students with I.D.

• Tango Class Hours:
Mon-Fri: 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Discover the Dinosaurs of Argentina

The history of man in Argentina is well documented – it dances through the colorful streets of La Boca, whispers in the walls of Recoleta cemetery and stands proudly in monuments across the city – but where do you go when it’s natural history you’re after?

One of the city’s better-kept secrets, the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia (MACN or the Bernardo Rivadavia Natural Science Museum) has 13 exhibition rooms displaying Argentina’s creatures great and small.

History of the Natural Sciences Museum

In 1812 Bernardino Rivadavia – at the time an important government minister, and later the first president of Argentina – called for the provinces to collect materials to create a natural history museum.

Over the next 125 years the gathered objects were housed within in a convent, the historical manzana de los luces (block of lights)and in buildings around a square in Monserrat.

In 1937 the collection moved to a building specially designed to house them, in its current location in Parque Centenario. Attractive small details such as stone owls watching over the first floor windows, bronze spider webs adorning the doors and mollusk shapes in the banister reflect the building’s suitability to its purpose.

Dinosaurs and other prehistoric mammals

A pictoral of the Amargasaurus, which was native to Argentina — The Amargasaurus was found in the Nequen province and lived during the early Cretaceous Period.

The MACN’s star attractions are the impressive looming dinosaur skeletons in the spacious paleontology room. One of the most striking is the spiny amargasaurus cazaui, a 10-metre-long skeleton discovered in Neuquén province.

All of the dinosaurs on display are native to Argentina. Displays explain how the creatures lived and when and where they were found. Small children can pretend to be archaeologists by excavating fake remains from a sandpit.

Equally fascinating are the displays in the low-lit ‘Buenos Aires, un millon de años atrás’ (Buenos Aires, a million years ago) room. The number of fossils dug up from underneath Buenos Aires exceeds the amount of dinosaur remains found in the whole of Patagonia.

Skeletons of prehistoric mammals such as the South American toxdon, comparable to a modern-day rhinoceros, and the glyptodont, a primitive armadillo, are on display. Short videos on flatscreen TVs give general information and reconstruct the excavation of these creatures, found when building the subway, the port and what is now Abasto shopping mall.

Plans are in place to expand this section of the museum to include exhibits on invasive species and the early American man.

Geology, Astronomy and Antarctica

Directly opposite the museum’s entrance is the geology room, containing rock samples, a large model of the globe and a small planetarium that replicates the night sky from any place on earth.

The ground floor also includes an aquarium, sections on marine life, mollusks and Antarctica. The aquarium is largely empty while the Antarctica room is packed with displays of model penguins and sea lions, preserved fish in jars, and the enormous skull of a sperm whale found in the South Atlantic Ocean.

Visitors can take a break at the retro bar temático (thematic bar), though should not be fooled by the name. Besides the room’s focal point – a large plastic shark hanging from the ceiling – the ‘bar’ consists of red plastic tables and chairs and a couple of vending machines.

The History of Science, Birds, Arthropods, Reptiles and Animal Idioms

Head upstairs for a journey through the history of science. Old-fashioned TV screens with 60s–style presentations, a colorful timeline on the floor and stand-alone posters tell its story. Here visitors can learn about Argentina’s connection to Charles Darwin, who passed through the country on his famous expedition on the Beagle, and Albert Einstein, who gave conferences in Buenos Aires during a 1925 visit.

There are also biographies of Argentine scientists such as Nobel Prize winning Bernardo Houssay and Luis Federico Leloir.

The rest of the floor exhibits bird, arthropods, mammal, reptile and plant species. Both bird and mammal rooms have skeletons of extinct and living species, plus stuffed animals in replicas of their preferred habitats.

In the amphibian and reptile room, jars full of coiled snakes and bulbous looking frogs line the shelves. Rows of glass cabinets in the arthropods room are filled with tiny beetles, butterflies and bees along with educational information about the species and their role in the ecosystem.

Spanish learners should look out for the ‘dichos argentinos’ display in the reptile room, which lists popular Argentine idioms related to animals such as, cocodrilo que se duerme es cartera – sleeping crocodiles get made into purses.

Temporary Art Exhibitions and Guided Tours

There are three temporary exhibition rooms in the Natural Science Museum, one of which is specifically for artists. It is meant for those whose work is related to the natural world or science, through the mediums of sculpture, photography and other visual arts.

Buenos Aires’ Museum of Natural Sciences isn’t modern, but it is well maintained, and its old-school display cases retain a kitsch charm.

While perfect for children or adults fascinated by dinosaurs, nature and science, it is not for the faint-hearted. Anyone who finds stuffed birds or pickled snakes creepy is advised to carefully choose the rooms they visit.
Information on exhibits is in Spanish only. Guided tours are available in English or Spanish, but must be booked in advance. —Rosie Hilder

Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales
Angel Gallardo 490
Caballito

• Hours:Sun-Mon 14-19hs.
• Cost: AR$, those under 6 get in free.
• Planetarium: $, only open at the weekends.
• Accessibility: There are ramps and lifts for disabled visitors

Getting there: Bus: 15, 36, 55, 65, 92, 99, 105, 112, 124, 135, 141, 146.
Subway: Line B, Angel Gallardo stop.

→ Read about the Buenos Aires Children’s Museum

Take a Tango Tour