Frank Gehry Museum & Museo del Canal

6 hours | Panama Canal Partial Transit | PC1-210
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Includes snack, Easy activity

Description

Be sure to read the Special Notes further down this page for important requirements and restriction.

Spend the day in one of the world's most lively and colorful cities. Founded in 1519, Panama City was a crucial port for treasure-laden Spanish ships. Today, many of the city's treasures can be found in the Smithsonian Institution-affiliated BioMuseo and Museo del Canal, two museums that help define the country and its contribution to science. Behold the treasures for yourself on a full-day excursion that also treats you to a panoramic tour of Panama City.
Your adventure begins at the pier as you board your air-conditioned transportation and head inland across Pan American Highway, which runs roughly parallel to the Canal.

First on your agenda is the Frank Gehry-designed BioMuseo. Standing at the entrance to the Panama Canal the exterior boasts a colorful origami-shape in tropical shades of yellow, orange, green, and blue. Step inside the 43,000-square-foot museum and behold a wealth of eye-catching displays that tell the three-million-year-old story of how the Isthmus of Panama rose from the ocean, united two continents and created one of the world's most biodiverse areas. Stroll through the eight exhibition halls and you'll be amazed at the number of genetic, ecological and biological displays including the six-million-year-old sandstone slab with mollusk fossils, barnacle plates and sea urchin fragments embedded in the rock. Fiberglass creatures that illustrate the cross-migration of animals over the land bridge created by the Isthmus three million years ago such as the there-foot shell of a long extinct Texas glyptodont and a bear-like sloth invite hands-on inspection. Continue through the galleries and you'll find yourself in an open-air exhibit that explains human arrival on the Isthmus over 15,000 years ago.

Next, you'll rejoin your transportation and drive to the colonial city center called Casco Viejo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Enjoy a light snack before you arrive at Museo del Canal Interoceánico de Panamá, more commonly known as the Panama Canal Museum.
Located on Plaza de la Cateral, the old quarter's most impressive square, the museum offers a better understanding of the manpower, obstacles and struggles involved in the Panama Canal's construction. Housed in a three-story 140-year-old French colonial building that once served as the city's grandest hotel, the museum's exhibits are dedicated solely to the history and construction of the Panama Canal. In fact, the French and later the United States used the building as their headquarters during the canal's construction. Photographs, video montages, maps and unique artifacts help bring to life the enormity of the achievements made in the canal's creation.
After the tour, you'll rejoin your transportation. But your day isn't over yet. As you make your way back to the pier, sit back and relax for a panoramic tour of the modern area of Panama City.

Special Notes:

The visit at the Frank Gehry Museum includes audioguides (English and Spanish available)

The Panama Canal Authority assigns specific time slots for the transit of a vessel through the locks. The ship will anchor in a designated area and will wait for instructions. Once clearance is transmitted to the ship, procedures begin to bring ship's tour passengers ashore. Therefore, tour departure times may vary and will be announced onboard. The return time of the ship to Colon or Cristobal may also be delayed due to transit through the locks. We recommend that you are prepared for any potential of delay in the ship's arrival to Colon or Cristobal and plan accordingly by bringing any needed medication or essential items on tour.

Depending on the voyage and itinerary guests will be dropped off in either Colon or Cristobal. Tour does not operate on Mondays.

Tour timeline may vary to avoid overcrowding, etc.

Transfer from the Gatun Yacht Club to the Frank Gehry Biomuseum

Transport type:
Air Conditioned Transportation
Transport Capacity:
40
Travel time:
01:30
Air conditioned:
Yes
Restroom available:
No

Arrive to the Museum and visit

Transport type:
Walking
Transport Capacity:
40
Time at site:
01:30
Inside visit:
Yes
Air conditioned:
Yes
Walking distance:
120
Restroom available:
Yes
Photo/video opportunity:
Yes

Drive to Museo del Canal

Transport type:
Air Conditioned Transportation
Transport Capacity:
40
Travel time:
00:30
Inside visit:
No
Air conditioned:
Yes
Restroom available:
No
Photo/video opportunity:
Yes

Tour of Museo del Canal

Time at site:
01:00
Free time at site:
60

Transfer to Port of Colon 2000 via a panoramic tour on the mordern area of Panama City.

Transport type:
Air Conditioned Transportation
Transport Capacity:
40
Travel time:
01:30
Air conditioned:
Yes
Restroom available:
No