My kids love discovery and science museums--we've visited them in three countries now, and five US…read morestates. This was their first time traveling to Ensenada, so we decided to book a tour of this museum just outside the cruise port. We were picked up by bus and transported to the museum, and were given a walking tour of the full museum.
What once was built for office space for the port just before the pandemic hit and then abandoned when the industry took a hit, was repurposed as a community natural history museum. While Caracol Museo de Ciencias is still growing, what they have done with the space so far is wonderful. Right now, they are focusing on quality over quantity...this museum is small and mighty, and is worthy of anyone interested in learning more about the natural history of Baja California. The exhibits are bilingual in Spanish and English, and masterfully incorporate technology and real samples, along with plenty for the senses and young at heart. There are small live creatures, interactive displays, sand pits to dig for fossils, animatronic dinosaurs, a planetarium show, and a gift shop. There is also a cute and stinky resident ferret.
The guide was brilliant--her enthusiasm for the museum and the subjects she spoke about was infectious, and I appreciated how she kept us all engaged and kept us moving at a decent pace.
I know there are several areas of the museum that are still growing, and I look forward to returning in a few years to see how much it has grown. Definitely worth a visit!