Chapultepec Center for Environmental Culture

The Centro de Cultura Ambiental Chapultepec is the “Chapultepec Center for Environmental Culture.” In 2022, it re-opened after a brief time in the Museum of Natural History, just across the way. It’s one of three environmental culture center operated by the Mexico City Secretary of the Environment (SEDEMA). Two others are at the Yautlica Park, and the Acuexcomatl Center at San Luis Tlaxialtemalco in Xochimilco.

Together the centers present a united front in protecting and fortifying Mexico City’s delicate natural environment. Here, the center focuses on Chapultepec’s tremendous diversity. It picks up where the Chapultepec Visitor’s Center begins.

The center offers a forum and exhibition space as well as thematic gardens to represent some of the landscapes of the greater Valley of Mexico. The center maintains wetlands, five ethnobotanical gardens, and a pavilion for exhibition space.

The lead on the project was the architect Rafael Ponce. The project created some 101,000 square meters of gardens, and planted more than 1,000 trees. It’s particularly important for visiting groups of students but the center is open to the public and acts as a museum as well as an education center.

Chapultepec is a big and diverse place. And the Center for Environmental Culture is intended to better protect and illuminate much of its mystery, culture, and history. This was one of 41 interventions planned for the period to end in 2024.

Hours: Daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.