Benefiting from exterior restoration, Ushuaia [1]’s evolving historical museum contains improved exhibits on the Yámana, Selknam, and other Fuegian Indians, and on early European voyages.
There remain permanent exhibits on the presidio, the Fique family’s general store, the original branch of Banco de la Nación (which occupied the building for more than 60 years), and natural history, including run-of-the-mill taxidermy. Its celebrity artifact is a rare copy of Thomas Bridges’s Yámana-English dictionary.
An open-air sector includes representations of a Yámana encampment and dwellings, plus machinery used in early agriculture and forestry. The Museo del Fin del Mundo (Av. Maipú 175, tel. 02901/421863, www.tierradelfuego.org.ar/museo [2]) also contains a bookstore/souvenir shop and a specialized library on southernmost Argentina, the surrounding oceans, and Antarctica. The website places much of this material online.
November–April, hours are 9 a.m.–8 p.m. daily, with guided tours at 10 a.m., noon, and 2 and 5 p.m.; the rest of the year, hours are noon–7 p.m. daily except Sunday, with guided tours at 2 and 5 p.m. Admission costs US$3.50 for adults, US$2 for students and seniors, and is free for children 14 and under. There is no additional charge for tours.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/destinations/chile/southern-patagonia/ushuaia-argentina
[2] http://www.tierradelfuego.org.ar/museo