Panama City [1]’s Natural Sciences Museum (Avenida Cuba and Calle 29 Este, tel. 225-0645, 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m. Tues.–Sat., US$1 adults, US$0.25 students) is a modest place consisting of four rooms mainly containing some stuffed and mounted animals and geological specimens.
It’s worth a quick visit, at least if you’re in the neighborhood, to get a close-up look at some of Panama [2]’s more interesting animals, including a jaguar, harpy eagle, howler and spider monkeys, and a huge iguana. It’s also fun to get a close look at the amazing hanging nest of an oropendola (a common bird in Panama).
But the most interesting display is probably a handful of fossilized bones of a 50,000-year-old sloth (Eremotherium rusconi), estimated to have been four meters long. The remains were found on the Azuero Peninsula [3] in 1991. Only the geology and paleontology room is air-conditioned, ensuring that the rocks stay nice and cool while the snake exhibit, for instance, is hot and humid.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/destinations/panama/panama-city
[2] http://www.moon.com/destinations/panama
[3] http://www.moon.com/destinations/panama/the-azuero-peninsula