Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos

About the museum

The Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos opened its doors on 11 May 1993 in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, on the initiative of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and the Cabildo de Tenerife (island council), which now runs it through Museos de Tenerife. It was inaugurated by the Russian cosmonaut Serguéi Krikaliov, who had just returned from a stay of more than three hundred days on the Mir space station, and its first director was the astrophysicist Ignacio García de la Rosa.

The building, designed by the architects Jordi Garcés and Enric Sòria, with museography by Enric Franch, has the shape of a half-star with points in plan and stands beside the IAC headquarters. On its terrace there is a small observatory with a radio telescope antenna, an amateur telescope and a sundial. The antenna bears engraved the coordinates of the Montes Tenerife, a lunar feature named in memory of Charles Piazzi Smyth, who observed the sky from the island's peaks in 1856.

Although astronomy is the core of the museum, the permanent exhibition, largely produced by the museum's own team and continuously renewed, also covers other sciences. Its modules deal, among other subjects, with the rotation and orbit of the Earth, sunspots, the Sun's magnetism, orbits around a black hole, atmospheric turbulence and light pollution. An astronomy room houses models of the Gran Telescopio CANARIAS and of the Teide and Roque de los Muchachos observatories. The programme is completed with talks, monographic exhibitions, observation nights, astronomy camps and planetarium shows.

Highlights

• Participatory permanent exhibition “Pedazos de ciencia”, with circuits on the Sun, the human body, the Earth and the Universe
• Digital planetarium with Digistar 5 system
• Microcosmos children's room for children aged 3 to 7
• Models of the Gran Telescopio CANARIAS and of the Teide and Roque de los Muchachos observatories
• Terrace with radio telescope, telescope and sundial

Permanent exhibitions

• Pedazos de ciencia – Participatory permanent exhibition, with circuits on the Sun, the human body, how things work, the Earth and the Universe, in which visitors experiment for themselves.
• Planetario – Room with a Digistar 5 digital system that allows visitors to travel through the cosmos from any point and any era, with shows on astronomy and Earth sciences.
• Sala infantil Microcosmos – Play and experimentation space for children aged 3 to 7, organised in modules such as the giant magnifying glass or the geometric world.

Founded

1993

Operated by

Organismo Autónomo de Museos y Centros del Cabildo de Tenerife (Museos de Tenerife)

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Fridays and Saturdays from 16:00 until closing (if the Friday or Saturday is a public holiday, from 14:00).

Free admission also for members of ICOM, teaching staff, guides who accompany groups or carry out preliminary visits, and school groups from the Canary Islands.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations
• Kids’ birthday parties

The Microcosmos children's room is designed for children aged 3 to 7 and is explored freely with an adult. There are also holiday workshops and astronomy camps. The activity “Cumpleaños con las estrellas” (a birthday party with the stars; ages 4 to 12, 2 hours, €17 per child, 10 to 25 children) is temporarily suspended.

Getting there & parking

The museum is on avenida de los Menceyes, next to the headquarters of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Corporate events

The assembly hall, the “Agustín de Betancourt” square and the temporary exhibition room are hired for working meetings, seminars, conferences and gatherings. Requests are made using a form; contact: eventosyprotocolo@museosdetenerife.org.

Plan your visit