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National Biodiversity Pavilion

The National Biodiversity Pavilion (Pabellón Nacional de la Biodiversidad) is a new science museum dedicated to presenting and preserving natural Mexican biodiversity. The building was intended to help shelter and support the collections of the National Institute of Biology. The museum only began operating in the Summer of 2022.

Part of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the new museum is within the University Cultural Center, at the center of the CU campus.

The Pavilion came about as a result of a donation from the Carlos Slim Foundation. The Foundation worked with the Institute to define themes and resources for the exhibits and laboratories within the complex. Grupo INCARSO also designed and donated the 12,000-square-meter building.

The collections of the Institute of Biology include some 130,000 dissected specimens. These range from amphibians, insects, mammals, reptiles, microorganisms, and the skeletons of a sperm whale, and a blue whale. About 3,000 specimens currently appear in the exhibitions. Permanent exhibitions currently explore:

Megadiversity and Natural Wealth
Interconnectivity and the Tree of Life
Nature in Constant Change
Bio-Laboratory: Science in Action
Ecological Footprint, Society & Consumption
Bio-Eco and the Sustainable Future

The Biodiversity Pavilion also houses a Digital Library with computers, digital microscopes, robots, and a 3D printer. The Pavilion also houses a temporary exhibitions area with items on loan from the Soumaya Museum.

National Biology Institute

The Mexican National Institute of Biology was founded in 1929 as a depository for the National Biological Collections that had accrued since the end of the 19th century. It's one of the biggest and most complex research units in the UNAM. 165 members of the academic staff are grouped in five academic units:

Departments of Botany and Zoology
The IB-UNAM Botanical Garden
The Chamela Biology Station in Jalisco
Los Tuxtlas Tropical Biology Station in Veracruz
National Biological Archives & Libraries

Most projects carried out at the Institute are aimed at increasing knowledge of biodiversity. Emphasis is on studies of the composition, distribution, origins, and potential uses of the flora, fauna and fungi of Mexico. Since its origins, the Institute has maintained the responsibility of forming, enriching, guarding and studying the National Biological Collections. The collections, together with the Library, are fundamental elements of the Institute, and a valuable patrimony of the University and the country.

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