• Juan Carlo Gómez de la Fuente
    Juan Carlo Gómez de la Fuente
  • INAH-DMC/Melitón Tapia
    INAH-DMC/Melitón Tapia
  • Juan Carlo Gómez de la Fuente
    Juan Carlo Gómez de la Fuente
  • Juan Carlo Gómez de la Fuente
    Juan Carlo Gómez de la Fuente
  • Juan Carlo Gómez de la Fuente
    Juan Carlo Gómez de la Fuente
  • INAH-DMC/Melitón Tapia
    INAH-DMC/Melitón Tapia
  • INAH-DMC/Melitón Tapia
    INAH-DMC/Melitón Tapia
Galería de Historia, Museo del Caracol
Since 1960, the Museo del Caracol has been an educational exhibition venue (mainly for children) focusing on Mexican history and spanning the period from the War of Independence until the 1917 Constitution. The information is presented using dioramas, models, videos and information boards.

Metropolitan
About the museum

The History Gallery was created in 1960 in a Mexico that was enjoying a boom, with its population gravitating toward the cities and a state seeking to promote modernity. The museum is the indirect result of the “Eleven Year Plan,” an initiative by Jaime Torres Bodet to combat illiteracy and improve basic education. It is also the outcome of the commemorations marking the 150th anniversary of the start of the War of Independence, and 50 years after the Mexican Revolution. The original idea was to build a space as an introduction to the National Museum of History in Chapultepec Castle, in order to explain to children and adults the defining moments in Mexican history from the end of the viceregal period until the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution.

Key figures participated in the project, among them Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, who made his first foray into the world of museums with this building. The architect designed the building to be implanted on one side of the Chapultepec Hill in the shape of a descending spiral, and as a result the museum was dubbed the Museo del Caracol—literally “the Snail Museum.” Historian Arturo Arnáiz y Freg directed the historical content; Federico Hernández Serrano put together the exhibition design; Íker Larrauri and Julio Prieto supervised the historical reconstructions; and Mario Cirett led the team of model makers.

This History Gallery was inaugurated by President Adolfo López Mateos on November 21, 1960. Cutting-edge technologies of the day were used: no ancient artefacts were to be found anywhere in the museum, which instead used dioramas, miniature theatrical representations and models. The historical settings were given sounds and small dramatizations to bring the past to life for the general public. The Museo del Caracol’s exhibitions became a landmark and served as an example for later museums to follow. Videos have now been added to its original collection.

November 1960
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Practical information
Tuesday to Sunday from 09:00 to 16:15 hrs.

$95.00 pesos

  • Extra fee for video cameras
  • Sundays free for Mexican citizens
  • Free entrance for Mexicans under 13 years old
  • Free entrance for Mexican students and teachers
  • Free entry for seniors
  • pensioners and retirees with ID
  • No Smoking
  • No entry with food
Rampa de acceso al Castillo de Chapultepec,
Primera Sección Bosque de Chapultepec,
Colonia San Miguel Chapultepec, C.P. 11580,
Ciudad de México, México.

Nearest metro station: Chapultepec

Bus: Paseo de la Reforma, Cto. Bicentennial


Services
  • Accesibilidad
  • Guardarropa
  • Módulo de información
  • Sanitarios
  • Tienda
  • Toma corriente
  • Visitas guiadas
GUIDE
Guía
  • +52 (55) 5211 5239
  • WWW
  • FACEBOOK
  • TWITTER
Directory
Directora
Julieta Gil Elorduy
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+52 (55) 5211 5239
Administradora
Dalila Serrano Castillo
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+52 (55) 5211 5239
1960
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Conspiración en una tertulia literaria en Querétaro
Dioramas del Museo del Caracol, Galería de Historia
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2019
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Exposición Temporal
2018
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Exterior view
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Exterior view
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Exterior view
19.418962, -99.183364
Texto © CONACULTA.INAH.Museo del Caracol CNME Imágenes © CONACULTA.INAH.Dirección de Medios.Melitón Tapia © CONACULTA.INAH.Fototeca CNME.Gliserio Castañeda
Coordinación Nacional de Museos y Exposiciones
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Juan Carlo Gómez de la Fuente
Juan Carlo Gómez de la Fuente

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