Description of the attraction
The Regional Museum of Antofagasta is one of twenty-six museums run by the Chilean Office of Libraries, Archives and Museums.
The Antofagasta Museum is currently housed in two buildings designated as Historical Monuments. Its permanent exhibition is located in the former customs building, which was built in 1867. In 1972, it was declared a National Historic Landmark. The library, video library, laboratory and administrative offices of the Local History Museum are located in the former building of the Maritime Administration, built in 1910. In 1978, it was also listed as a National Historic Site of Chile.
The Antofagasta Museum is non-profit. Its work is aimed at preserving and spreading the culture of prehistoric coastal settlements and preserving the heritage of Antofagasta. This institution was founded as a history museum in 1964 under the direction of the former Northern University. After twenty years of painstaking and fruitful work at this university, the priceless collections of the museum were transferred to the department of libraries, archives and museums in Chile. Thus, in 1984 it became the Regional Museum of Antofagasta.
In 2008, thanks to the restructuring of the museum space, 12 new permanent historical, archaeological, geological and public expositions, an auditorium, an assembly hall for temporary and traveling exhibitions in the field of cultural communication, for scientific and creative purposes were opened. Qualified specialists conduct excursions, seminars, lectures on anthropology, archeology and history within the walls of the museum. You can also use the library funds to expand knowledge in the field of the historical heritage of the region.
Visiting the two-story building of the Local History Museum, you will learn a lot of information on pre-Columbian history, the history of the Spanish conquest and the modern heritage of Antofagasta, the de facto mining capital of the world.
