Biomuseo & the Darien Peninsula: an educational program

Designed by Frank Gehry, Panama City’s Biomuseo includes galleries dedicated to biodiversity, geological time and the human impact on the environment. Its outreach program is vital in reaching hard-to-access indigenous communities, who have unique firsthand experience of the country’s changing landscape.

The museum’s “The Forests of Darien” traveling exhibition is focused on the Darien Peninsula of Panama, one of the world’s most significant jungles. It is home to three cultural indigenous groups: the Guna, the Emberá and the Wounaan. Each group has its own territories, languages and traditions, now fragile and endangered by industrial encroachment and mass migration. Each year, hundreds of thousands of migrants attempt to cross the treacherous Darien Gap; a humanitarian crisis.

“The Forests of Darien” program is designed for mobility, reach and access. It will travel first to Metiti, a community deep within the Darien, enabling local communities – including seven schools serving over 200 children – to first engage with the material. The exhibition panels and teaching programs are designed to allow those without much access to cities or the museum building to benefit equally from its work.