Maya museum shapes modernity.

• Author: Schultz, Randy
• Position: !Ojo!

THE ISOLATED FARMING hamlet of Copan Ruinas, in northern Honduras, holds special meaning for archaeologists and university scholars. For years, they have studied the famous Maya ruins in nearby Copan. An increasing number of hotels, restaurants, and other tourism enterprises have sprung up in the dusty town to accommodate these visitors, but others outside the region had given little notice. Until now.

Internationally renowned Maya expert. Ricardo Agurcia, founder and director of the nonprofit Copan Association, spearheaded an effort to raise awareness of the area's rich heritage and potential for positive development.

This caught the attention of the World Bank, which included the Copan site as part of its $8.3 million-funded Honduran Interactive Environmental Learning and Science Promotion Project (PROFUTURO).

As a direct result, the new Copan Children's Museum recently opened its doors to appreciative visitors and helped create a modern identifying mark for Copan Ruinas. Despite its hard-to-reach location and its rugged topography, the museum has already attracted nearly twenty thousand people in less than a year. Housed in the town's former high school, the exhibits highlight the Maya experience in displays awash in bright yellows, purples, and blues that blend contemporary design with a rich and storied past.

Creating the museum was a Unique challenge because of the region's climate, culture, and limited technology. The Copan Association contracted Platypus Studio, an exhibit-design firm based in Pasadena, California, to partner with project consultant Catherine Docter in the design and construction of the museum exhibits. In order to meet the World Bink guidelines, however, Platypus needed to work with local builders and craftspeople in constructing the displays. As a result, virtually all of the museum components were built in Honduras and neighboring Guatemala.

"It was important to use materials that could stand up to Cite weather, especially since the museum building windows had no glass panes," explains Richard Valencia, owner and president of Platypus Studio. "The region also has a tremendous problem with termites, so much of the exhibit was fabricated using particle board, edge-banded to...