Museum

The museum at Ave Azul is a collection of natural history curiosities from around the globe and a feast for the scientific mind. Examples of items that have fascinated me all my life to this day.

Starting with an insect collection that began when I was just 5 years old,it eventually expanded into near every aspect of biology.

I began teaching myself the art of Taxidermy at age 13 and though I have maintained a collection of mounted specimens of birds and animals predating the start of my zoo career  none could be brought here to the tropics due to an uncontrollable environment of high humidity.

One will however,find here an extensive insect and egg collection created over a period of more than 40 years. Additionally, there are preserved and jarred specimens, skulls, fossils, feathers, enormous prehistoric shark teeth,some tribal art and original avian art as well by such masters as John Gould, Edward Lear and John Kuellmans.

In the area of Malacology,you will find some 110 species of Cowry shells (family Cypraeidae), and over 80 species of Cone shells (family Conidae).

Much of the original collections were lost in a large hurricane where I lived near half my life on the Hawaiian island of Kauai,9-11 1992.

The egg collection of over 100 species of birds however,was spared completely in a building that was totally destroyed.Not a single egg moved in it’s glass case,nor the glass itself.A very real hurricane phenomenon. The current insect collection seen here now is a result of specimens salvaged from the storm and many other specimens preserved in freezers at the time and 15 plus more years of collecting and work for display.

Though I know where and when I captured and collected each specimen,the challenge now is to classify and label each individual specimen taxonomically and scientifically as I had done with the original collection pre hurricane.

So,if you are a student,traveler or tourist visiting Costa Rica and looking for something unusual and completely different, come experience the menagerie  that is the museum at Ave Azul de la Osa.

More photos of the Museum below. Click image to view larger size.

Butterfly preservation for the Ave Azul Museum

Monteverde cloud forest – Any day or night in June. 3 days of fantastic collecting. Even better than the Amazon.

Skulls and preserved animals at Ave Azul’s Museum

Egg collection from Hawaii, Ave Azul de la Osa Museum

Egg collection in the Museum