Parque Explora

{{infobox Museum |name = Parque Explora |native_name = |image = File:Parque Explora. from Metrostation Universidad, Medellín.jpg |image_size = 250 px |caption = Aerial shot of Parque Explora |established = 2008 |location = Carrera 52 No 73-75<br>Medellín, Colombia |visitors = |type = Science museum |director = |public_transit = |website = {{URL|http://www.parqueexplora.org/}} }} '''Parque Explora''' is an interactive science museum in Medellín, Colombia,<ref name="Caputo">{{cite book|author=Lorrain Caputo|title=VIVA Colombia Adventure Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c16G3Z9EtgcC&pg=PT627|accessdate=10 August 2013|publisher=Viva Publishing Network|isbn=978-1-937157-05-0|pages=627–}}</ref> loosely modeled after San Francisco's Exploratorium.<ref name="Porup2010">{{cite book|author=Jens Porup|title=Lonel Colombia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kw78V-p1aY4C&pg=PA208|accessdate=10 August 2013|date=15 September 2010|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=978-1-74220-326-3|pages=208–}}</ref> It houses South America's largest freshwater aquarium, Explora Aquarium.<ref>{{cite web|last=Explora|first=Parque|title=Sitio web oficial del Parque Explora|url=http://www.parqueexplora.org|accessdate=11 December 2013}}</ref> The museum contains over 300 interactive attractions, as well as a 3D auditorium, planetarium, television studio, and vivarium. The museum opened in 2008. thumbnail|right|Snake from the vivarium

==Architecture== Architect Alejandro Echeverri designed the museum.<ref name="Bullivant2012">{{cite book|author=Lucy Bullivant|title=Masterplanning Futures BULLIVANT|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7xal23QYDW4C&pg=PA126|accessdate=10 August 2013|date=12 November 2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-55446-6|pages=126–}}</ref> It has a combination of indoor and outdoor space. Its four red "cubes" house the museum's science and technology rooms.<ref name="Escobar2010">{{cite book|author=Luis Fernando González Escobar|title=Ciudad y arquitectura urbana en Colombia 1980-2010|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UjYa6z99nikC&pg=PA99|accessdate=10 August 2013|year=2010|publisher=Universidad de Antioquia|isbn=978-958-714-382-9|pages=99–}}</ref>

==Explora Aquarium== thumbnail|right|Pufferfish from the aquarium Explora aquarium houses more than 2,000 organisms and about 250 of Colombia's most common species.<ref>{{cite web|last=Explora|first=Parque|title=Sitio web oficial del Parque Explora|url=https://www.parqueexplora.org/visitanos/acuario#descripcion|accessdate=19 January 2024}}</ref> Its 25 tanks exhibit many of the most representative species that inhabit Colombia's rivers and oceans, including piranhas, electric eels, and a panchromatic kaleidoscope of fish.<ref name="Baker2012" />

==Location== Parque Explora is located in the northern area of Medellín, known as the North Zone (''Zona Norte''), between Parque Norte and the Botanical Garden of Medellín. The museum can be reached by the Medellín Metro on line A, at the University Station stop, which is named for the nearby University of Antioquia.<ref name="Baker2012">{{cite book|author=Christopher Baker|title=National Geographic Traveler: Colombia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MJ28KAzMbZ8C&pg=PA171|accessdate=10 August 2013|year=2012|publisher=National Geographic Society|isbn=978-1-4262-0950-5|pages=171–}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Parque Explora}} * [http://www.parqueexplora.org/ Official website]

Category:Museums in Medellín Category:Aquaria in Colombia Category:Science museums in Colombia