MUCA: Museo Universitario de Ciencia y Arte

MUCA is the Museo Universitario de Ciencias y Arte is a great place to visit on the UNAM CU campus. Within the world-famous Faculty of Architecture, it’s maintained by the faculty with input from people all over the UNAM. The space was originally designed by architects José Villagrán García, Alfonso Liceaga, and Xavier García Lascurain with the intention that it serve as an exhibition space for the University.

The museum opened in 1960 to meet demand from the entire university community. The principles then stated were that it “be a dynamic museum open to all variants of art, to have a conciliatory spirit between science, art and to humanities, and to not include a permanent collection.”

That last principle changed only in 1998 when a program was begun specifically for the acquisition of works of art to form a permanent collection. In 2009, the space was given over again to the Faculty of Architecture after many years of experimentation and varying management teams, and a thorough rehabilitation began.

Today the space is multi-disciplinarian, and year-round academic and cultural activities are developed here. Guests enter the museum through the Galería María Luisa Dehesa Gómez Farías, which was designed by architect José Luis Benlliure. Exhibitions are temporary and change several times over the course of a year. But there’s nearly always something worth seeing.

Hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.