The Museum of Belize, located in downtown Belize City (Gabourel Lane), and on the grounds of the Central Bank of Belize, was the country’s first national museum, inaugurated in 2002. The Museum is housed in a refurbished British colonial prison built in 1857 and evacuated in 1993.

What used to be a dwelling for inmates is now where valued Belizean treasures are on exhibit. Both permanent and rotating collections are on display. Maya Masterpieces is a permanent museum collection that spans the ancient Maya civilization from 600 B.C. to A.D. 1500. Many artifacts displaying the legacy of ancient Maya achievements are exhibited. Rotating exhibits include “Insects of Belize” a colorful collection of butterflies, including the spectacular Blue Morpho, and “Stamps of Belize” which, features a stamp commemorating the Coronation of King George VI (1937).

The Museum of Belize, has retained its link with the past as each window of the structure signifies a cell that was built for one inmate. One cell has been restored to give visitors a glimpse of what prison life used to be like.

(IR ARRIBA)