Bernardino Rivadavia Natural Sciences Museum
South America's first natural sciences museum — and Alexander von Humboldt sent research requests here.
Coming soon on iOS — be first to walk Buenos Aires offline.
Founded in 1826 under Bernardino Rivadavia's direct oversight, this was the continent's first institution of its kind. Italian astronomer Ottaviano Fabrizio Mossotti set up Argentina's first observatory, meteorological station, and experimental physics laboratory on site between 1828 and 1835. The original collection opened with 800 animal and 1,500 mineral specimens — and Humboldt himself requisitioned meteorological studies from its researchers for the Institut de France.
What to look for
- The founding natural history collection, which began with 800 animal and 1,500 mineral specimens donated in 1813
- Any exhibit referencing Mossotti's work — he ran the nation's first observatory and meteorological station here through 1835
- Mentions of Humboldt's correspondence with the museum's research staff
Located in the Caballito neighborhood of Buenos Aires, away from the tourist center — budget extra transit time from downtown.
Bernardino Rivadavia Natural Sciences Museum is one of 34 sights worth the detour in Buenos Aires, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Buenos Aires pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Buenos Aires
- Mas Monumental Stadium85,018 seats on reclaimed Río de la Plata marshland — the largest stadium in South America, and the ground where a World Cup Final was played.
- La BomboneraThat chocolate-box shape doesn't just look strange — the unusual design gives the bowl its famously excellent acoustics.
- Casa RosadaThe baby-pink paint was a political recipe: mix the Federalists' red with the Unitarians' white, and maybe stop a civil war.
- Teatro ColónAcoustics expert Leo Beranek surveyed leading international opera and orchestra directors and ranked this hall the world's best room for opera — not a slogan, a measured result.
- Oscar and Juan Gálvez Race TrackF1 cars once screamed through the third corner here at 305 km/h, flat out for 40 straight seconds — and the grandstands put you right on top of it.
- Palacio BaroloA 1923 tower mapped floor by floor onto Dante's Divine Comedy — hell at the base, purgatory in the middle, heaven at the top.