Costa Rica Guide
San José
Museo de Ciencias Naturales La Salle
Opening time: Mon– Fri 8am–3pm
Price: $1
On the southwest corner of Parque la Sabana, across the road in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock complex, is the quirky natural science museum Museo de Ciencias Naturales La Salle. Walk in, and after about 400m you'll see the painted wall proclaiming the museum; the entrance is at the back. It's an offbeat collection, with displays ranging from pickled fish and snakes coiled in formaldehyde to some rather forlorn taxidermy exhibits – age and humidity have taken their toll. Highlights include the model of the huge baula, or leatherback turtle, the biggest reptile on earth, and the dusky grouper fish, a serious contender for first prize in the Ugliest Animal in the World contest. Tons of crumbly fossils and an enormous selection of pinned butterflies (twelve cases alone of titanium-bright Blue Morphos) finish off the collection. Live turtles, virtually motionless, doze in the courtyard garden. The Sabana– Estadio bus stops right outside the museum. Note, on your left as you go by on the way to the museum, the futuristic air traffic control tower shape of the Controlaría de la República: this is the government's administrative headquarters.