The Human Path

As visitors exit the Great Biotic Interchange, they will leave the climate-controlled interior and descend into a large semi-outdoor room filled with illuminated columns. The space serves two functions. It is a social space, a break-out area of the museum where visitors can relax, wait for companions and gather as groups. School groups will form here and demonstrations will be presented in its center. Its other function is to exhibit the layered and fascinating story of human presence in the Isthmus.

The 16-column arrangement of the space is ideally suited to tell this multi-faceted story. Organized by chronology and geographical region, each column, and, in turn, each set of four columns, compose story sets, gathering archaeological, ethnobotanical, mythological, sociological, and historical information about the interrelationships of human culture and the natural landscapes of Panama. Visitors can weave their own route through the story lines, finding connections and juxtapositions.

Each of the four large perimeter walls facing the space will present the episodes of human arrival and habitation of the Isthmus — the second collision of worlds — from the earliest evidence, 15,000 years ago, to the present day.