Derroteros de una institución científica fundacional: el Museo público de Buenos Aires, 1812-1911

Abstract

The intention of founding a scientific institution oriented to tresure theproducts of nature was born some years after the May Revolution. As a legacy of arecent tradition -the creation of the British Museum in London (1753) and the MuséeNational d´Histoire Naturelle in Paris (1794)- the Public Museum of Buenos Aires(PMBA) constituted a significant element of the Rivadavian cultural program. Thepurpose of this article consist of an analysis of the social and cultural history of thePMBA, from its early origins until the time of the centennial. The article takes intoaccount several components of an "ethnography of Museums" such as authorities,colections, publications, location of buildings, scientific and security staff, budgetproblems, associations of friends and their diverse intrigues, specialized audience,occasional visitors, among others.