Courtesy of: The Morning News
The National Archaeological Museum of Aruba (NAMA or MANA in Papiamento) welcome Minister of Economic & Social Affairs and Culture, Michelle Hooyboer-Winklaar, for the announcement yesterday morning of maintenance and improvement to take place over the next six to eight months.
Head Administrator Arminda Franken-Ruiz explained that aside from a fresh coat of paint, the museum will also install several ramps and handrails, allowing the museum to be more accessible for the physically impaired.
The parking lot will be finished, and video cameras and other aspects of security will be increased. The latter is to supplement a program laid out last year when the museum hosted a networking conference with curators from facilities in Holland, Latin America, the U.S. and other Caribbean islands. MANA plans in the near future to regularly host traveling exhibits from other museums, which will provide interesting and new information about the region, beyond the Aruba-focused artifacts that are part of the permanent collection.
A temporary addition the administrators were also proud to unveil was the billboard informing visitors that work is taking place on the museum at this time. It is punctuated by comments recorded in their visitor’s book, since they first opened the new museum in 2009. The comments, in more than half a dozen languages, were particularly motivating for the museum staff.
The improvements will cost a little over one million Aruban florins; the cost is being assumed by the Ministries of Culture, Infrastructure and Tourism. The museum will continue operating at regular hours while the work is being done. It is located in downtown Oranjestad on the Henriquezplein #2 and is opened Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 AM until 5:30 PM; on Saturdays and Sundays it is open until 2:00 PM. Entrance is free.
