Museo de la Patagonia

At the Centro Cívico [1]’s northeast corner, Bariloche [2]’s Patagonian museum admirably attempts to place the region (and more) in ecological, cultural, and historical context.

Its multiple halls touch on natural history through taxidermy (better than most of its kind); insects (inexplicably including subtropical Iguazú [3]); Patagonia’s population from antiquity to the present; the aboriginal Mapuche, Tehuelche, and Fuegian peoples; caudillo Juan Manuel de Rosas; the “Conquista del Desierto” (Conquest of the Desert) that displaced the aboriginals; and Bariloche’s own urban development. There is even material on Stanford University geologist Bailey Willis, a visionary consultant who did the region’s first systematic surveys in the early 20th century.

The Museo de la Patagonia (Centro Cívico s/n, tel. 02944/42-2309, US$1) is open 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. and 2–7 p.m. Tuesday–Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturday.