This place was one of the coolest places I went to during my trip! First off there was AC which is great! There were so many different exhibits and wonderful things to look at. The museum was spacious and even with a good amount of people walking around it didn’t feel crowded at all. There was such a wide variety of stuff to look at, you could really spend all day there. It was about $6 a ticket and totally worth it. We spent about three hours there but you could have spent even more time.

Why do foreigners have to pay 3x more than locals? Do we see 3x more or get any other extra value? Why is this discrimination still going on? Or am I missing something? This usually doesn't happen in civilised countries.

One of the best museums in Costa Rica! Relatively new museum with a good collection. on Sundays 2 tickets for the price of 1.

Inside this ugly brutalist building is an excellent museum that displays not only their extensive Jade collection but the history of Costa Rican culture. Highly recommend.

The objects in this place makes you think about where we Costarican are from and how they figured to create so amazing art with simple tools. If you find yourself around San Jose downtown do yourself a favor and go I’ll take about hour and a half maybe more if you are curious.

Pros: nice building and impressive collection. When I was there they had some Dali works on display. Cons: $16, closed Monday and badly curated. Like really badly. There was basically no text to read for any of the displays and the text provided often didn't relate. For some displays there was a touch screen display, but at least half were off and the remainder were pretty much a waste of time. The objects seemed to be grouped fairly randomly, or if there was an sort of order If you are interested in questions like l, where did this object come from? Who made it? I'd that a diety on the vase? Are those logograms Mayan? You will not find the answers here.

(Translated by Google) The Jade Museum safeguards, protects and exhibits the largest collection of pre-Columbian jade in America. It has a modern distribution of the exhibition halls that also include ceramic, stone, bone, shell, wood and other materials, both in its permanent exhibition and in temporary thematic exhibitions. The museum is located in a fairly accessible area, has parking and wheelchair access. The value of the entrance to the museum can vary between locals and foreigners, while for students the entrance is free. (Original) El Museo del Jade custodia, protege y exhibe la mayor colección de jade precolombino de América. Cuenta con una moderna distribución de las salas de exhibición que incluyen también objetos de cerámica, piedra, hueso, concha, madera y otros materiales, tanto en su exhibición permanente como en exhibiciones temáticas temporales. El museo se encuentra ubicado en una zona bastante accesible, cuenta con parqueo y acceso para silla de ruedas. El valor de la entrada al museo puede varias entre locales y extranjeros, mientras que para los estudiantes la entrada es gratuita.

Great place to visit if you are interested about the Jade in history and how it was used and the role it played in many different points in humanity. Very interesting museum to visit. Has many floors separating the different points in history of Jade and its importance to all the different tribes. Plan to spend a few hours in this place as there is a lot of information to learn.

It is a great museum, with the best display of jade and history of a country that I have attended. Definitely a must visit when you come to Costa Rica

Loved looking at the various Jade pieces on the 2nd floor 😍. I really wish the museum displays/captions included more information about what the pieces are or how they were used in the past 😔. Also really enjoyed the pottery exhibit on 5th floor. The painted and molded detailing is exquisite.

Really nice place for learning about the ancient culture of Costa Rica!

It wasn't crowded at all, but we went early in the day. The top floor had very few explanations of the exhibits. A couple of the temporary exhibits were only in Spanish, which I read and explained to my 10 yr old. Worth at least an hour of your time!

Local culture...

This place was magical. Felt a deep connection inside my soul as I walked past and admired ancient shamanic tools from the past

(Translated by Google) Excellent, the atmosphere, the lights, the scenography where the pieces are arranged, gives the impression of being outside those walls, perhaps a little more information is lacking for the pieces on display. (Original) Excelente, el ambiente, las luces, la escenografía donde tienen acomodadas las piezas, da la impresión de estar fuera de esas paredes, quizás falta un poco más de información para las piezas en exposición.

A fantastic collection of jade and pottery spread out over several floors. Very interesting exhibits charting the culture of the native people. The amount and quality of the preserved relics is almost overwhelming. Well worth the visit if you happen to be in the capital.

I was surprised how well this 5 storey museum presented their huge collection! On the 5th floor there’s the largest collection of precolombian ceramics I have ever seen. I took so many pictures as I found the art so inspirational. The building itself I found really aesthetically pleasing too. Well worth the visit. Not just jade but so much more.

(Translated by Google) It is a super nice museum, organized, excellent to know a little of Costa Rica. (Original) Es un museo súper lindo, organizado, excelente para conocer un poco de Costa Rica.

(Translated by Google) The museum has five floors of beautifully presented pre-Columbian art. An excellent walk for an afternoon. (Original) El museo cuenta con cinco pisos de arte precolombino muy bien presentados. Un paseo excelente para una tarde.

(Translated by Google) Museum of Jade and Pre-Columbian Culture of Costa Rica finds more than 2000 pieces of jade from our indigenous ancestors before the colonization of the Spanish led by Christopher Columbus and his three caravels La Niña, La Pinta and La Santa María to our lands in 1942 more than 500 years ago. (Original) Museo del Jade y La Cultura Precolombina de Costa Rica se encuentra con más de 2000 piezas de jade de nuestros antepasados indígenas antes de la colonización de los españoles dirigidos por Cristóbal Colón y sus tres carabelas La Niña, La Pintay La Santa María a nuestras tierras en 1942 hace más de 500 años.

(Translated by Google) God statues, ornaments and altar fittings made of jade. The beautiful jade death mask close to the emerald is a masterpiece. (Original) ヒスイで作られた神像や装飾品や祭壇具など。エメラルドに近い美しいヒスイのデスマスクは圧巻です。

Honestly a great experience I enjoyed going through all of it, keep in mind it's aroing $16 however if you are a student and you show some student ID it's only $5 also if you want a tour guide it's an extra $2 per person not group, I believe that it's not needed since the exhibits have each description.

There are many well crafted exhibits at the museum. The story of the lives of the indigenous people is portrayed very well.

What an interesting place to visit! The exhibition expands on history of pre Colombian natives and adds very well to the information provided by a nearby National Museum of Costa Rica. The artifacts are not limited to jade and showcase lots of traditional pottery. Each section is well organized and flows naturally. The descriptions and activities on each floor are detailed enough and will keep you here for well over 2 hours. Highly recommend to visit AFTER visiting National Museum of Costa Rica.

Peaceful. Spaceful. Beautiful.

The light, oh the light. Friendly, caring staff I had a carry-on and backpack that would not fit in their locker systems. Without me asking they directed me to a locked staff closet and stored my belongings safely for me. Entry is 15.00 US Dollars. If you are a citizen of Costa Rica or foreign student it is much less 5.00 for citizens. The best part the collection, artfully displayed. I learned a bit (some English) about the indigenous culture. The symbols, shaman, everyday life. How Jade was in incorporated into ceremony and status.

Stones. Lots of them. In different shapes and figures. Personally not my favorite museum. But was part of the three museum package. If you have to pick one museum, go to the gold museum instead. But if you like stones, this one is for you.

New and well constructed museum with a focus on pottery and stoneworks, exploring the different roles and evolution of such through the different eras of Costa Rica's long history. Well preserved and extensive collection.

Wow! What a great and beautiful museum! The building’s exterior is beautiful, unique and ultra-modern. I must say we were surprisingly amazed…one of the best museums we have ever been to… so glad we went. Five floors filled with a vast and enormous collection of artifacts. Not only jade, but also many ceramics and stone. Many unique ocarinas to see. The word “jade” might lead a person to think this place has primarily jade artifacts, but definitely not so. I agree with another reviewer here that this is perhaps the best museum in Costa Rica. Definitely worth the cost of admission.

Really great display. Wish they has a tour guide.

You should go there and see

(Translated by Google) It is worth knowing. They have a cafeteria with good customer service. (Original) Vale la pena conocerlo. Tienen una cafetería con buena atención al público.-

An amazing museum with many exhibits about jade, its history, and how it was used. The museum had many helpful exhibits in both Spanish and English! On the top floor, they had a huge collection of jade necklaces, bracelets, and more. They also had little pottery vases and figurines.

Excellent museum of pre-Columbian Costa Rica. Little pricey for tourist at $16usd. But totally worth it. I would recommend 1.5 to 2 hours or longer.

This 5 floor museum was built to preserve artifacts containing jade and clay dating back to a pre-columbian era. Each floor has it's own theme and writeup. I encourage you to read about what you're looking at because it's fascinating to learn about the significance of Jade and how it was used as a symbol of power and status, usually worn by chiefs and shaman. You'll see beautifully detailed clay pots and if you go to floor 5 you'll see a massive ceramic collection This society also created rolling stamps that they would apply plant extracts and clay onto and roll it onto the skin to apply tattoos. The pre-colombian society would participate in funerary rituals where they would bury jade jewelry with the deceased. They would also carve heads out of stone. During this period, decapitating rival's symbolised power. You can also find musical artifacts like flutes and maracas. I personally think it's a great way to get a look into the past and I recommend a visit.

(Translated by Google) You cannot miss this museum, I have visited many around the world and I would say this is among the best. Incredible museography, beautiful architecture and extensively complete collection, we and our 7, 8, 10 and 17 year old children really enjoy it ... Really a jewel full of jewels. (Original) No puede perderse este museo, he visitado muchos alrededor del mundo y diría este está entre los mejores. Increíble museografía, bella arquitectura y colección extensamente completa, lo disfrutamos mucho tanto nosotros como nuestros hijos de 7, 8, 10 y 17 años... Realmente una joya llena de joyas.

👌

(Translated by Google) Very comfortable. Well-organized facilities (Original) Muy cómodo. Las instalaciones bien ordenadas

I wanted to enjoy this museum more, but I felt it was very basic. Jade is my middle name so Its always been one of my favorite stones, and there was a ton of it and i didnt know about it’s history here. However other than that, I don’t feel I gained much new cultural information about the peoples or the area. There was a lot on display but a lot of similar things and the plaques explaining were very generic. It also seemed like parts were being renovated or moved around. There were spaces that looked like it should have a display but it wasn’t there. Some areas were blocked off. A few displays said “touch” but were either blocked off so you couldn’t or had another “do not touch” sign placed after. For $16, I don’t feel this was worth it. But here are some pics of a few things I did enjoy.

Very repetitive and not very well curated. $16 each for Americans, $5 each if you have a Costa Rican student ID. 60% pottery of all nomenclatures, 20% art exhibit of Salvador Dali (who was one weird dude), 20% jade in various formats. Was interesting the first 30min but there’s a lot of historical context lacking. Also not interactive in the least bit. That said, better than sitting at home for $5.

This is a beautiful museum. There are many exhibits of the various periods and artifacts going back thousands of years. Good screens for kids and generally great way kids to experience the history of this beautiful country and amazing people. As a wonderful bonus there was a wonderful exhibit of the works of Isidro Con Wong. It was a splendid 3 hours. Great location too, good city walk about.

This is a modern museum with backlit displays and underlit raised floors. There is only one floor dedicated to jade. The other four floors contain many ceramics and carved stone “metates” from burial sites. The Jade work found in Costa Rica is not as intricate as that from the same era in Asia. The top floor contains hundreds of items still being researched by the museum. There are many explanations accompanying the displays that detail daily life of the indigenous peoples. We were unable to get the audioguide to work. I feel that this museum is very expensive for foreigners (unjustly so). $16 per person.

There's a lot to learn at this Museum for locals as well as foreigners, it's a nice piece of history with many different areas to explore.

The museum is more about digital and other modern exhibits and pottery than about jade.

This is a good national museum. My disappointment may be linked more with it being so narrowly focussed but it is mostly high quality. Almost all pre-Columbus arrival. I suppose if they had modern jade art and jewelry that might round it all out for me. Also, visitors pay triple the entry fee of nationals.

Muss ich noch hin. Habe viel Positives gehört. Nacht-Fotos anbei.

Phenomenal experience that welcomed us to the city and gave us a foundation of knowledge regarding the culture and history of Costa Rica/San Jose. Plenty of information laid out in an intuitive, well thought out manner. Greta exhibits, staff, and executed space

Excellent museum. They offer English and Spanish descriptions. Highly recommend

A very attractive museum with five floors of exhibits. Although I enjoyed my visit, I felt that 1) the price for foreigners was very steep, 2) much of the pottery lacked labels to give background information about the objects, and 3) the name of the museum is a bit misleading, as only one room out of the five floors contained jade. Most of the museum is dedicated to pottery. Still worth a visit, if you know what to expect.

With the visit! Very well done exhibits.

Was a cool museum to learn about the history of the Indigenous people of the area and how Jade fit into everything in daily life. Would have given it 5 stars if there had been better explanations to fully understand everything, and the wifi didn't work well enough to stream the guide.

5 floors of cool terracotta sculptures. Loved it.

Authentic experience! If you have a rainy day this will be a good place to visit and learn about the Jade culture

(Translated by Google) Excellent place to spend a quiet and educational time. Very technological and excellent structure (Original) Excelente lugar para pasar un rato tranquilo y educativo . Muy tecnológico y excelente estructutmra

(Translated by Google) A beautiful place I definitely recommend it! (Original) Un lugar hermoso sin duda lo recomiendo!

(Translated by Google) Quite interesting (Original) Bastante interesante

(Translated by Google) A very informative place about our ancestors and how they worked jade in ancient times. Perfect to spend the weekend. (Original) Un lugar muy informativo sobre nuestros ancestros y sobre cómo trabajaban el jade en la antigüedad. Perfecto para pasar el fin de semana.

(Translated by Google) The amount of objects that belong to Costa Rica is impressive. 5 floors. Cute cool (Original) La cantidad de objetos que pertenece a Costa Rica es impresionante. 5 pisos. Lindo fresquito

(Translated by Google) Impressive of what we were capable of one day and the next the magic is over, let's get it back (Original) Impresionante de lo que fuimos capaces un día y al siguiente se acabó la magia, recuperemosla

Amazing the amount of history in this collection. 5 story building with a lot of antiques and indian and pre colombine history.

Starts off a little slow, but don't be fooled. This museum is an ~actual~ gem. This is great with the other museums in walking distance. Must see!

A great museum in the middle of the city. I highly recommend spending two hours here reading through the history, touching the objects (signs will tell you which ones are allowed), and watching the videos. I learned so much and gained a better appreciation for the rich history of jade excavation and carvings.

(Translated by Google) Excellent option for a weekend (Original) Excelente opción para un fin de semana

Certainly worth visiting. Great collection of jade objects and more. The animal figurines are amazing. The interactive parts work a bit less well. We spend 2 hours at this museum. No bags and bag packs allowed but you find free lockers at the entrance

I enjoyed my lonely visit,. .. swinging between nature inspired jade and clay pieces, shamanic artefacts, nicely displayed exhibition,.... embracing simplicity and proufoundness of pre Colombians life. Thank you

(Translated by Google) He lacks more information in the exhibits (Original) Le falta más información en las exhibiciones

(Translated by Google) Beautiful, I want to return: 3 and very good staff attention (Original) Hermoso, quiero volver :3 y muy buena atención del personal

Would recommend you go through the national museum first - it teaches you more about the history of jade and Costa Rica than this place. Pretty high quality museum with great artifacts.

This is a wonderful modern museum of Central America cultural legacy. The collection is huge and interiors are elegant modern and really friendly. Is a great place for family and scholar tours. Unforgettable.

This was a HUGE museum! 5 floors of exhibits showing tons of artifacts from Costa Rica's ancient history. It was interesting to learn about the use and carving of Jade, and there were alot of written descriptions and videos that gave context in Spanish and English. We were a little exhausted from the sheer amount by the time we reached the 5th floor, but each gallery was so different and unique we wanted to keep going!! Only disappointment was the gift shop, but the Gold Museum had a nice gift shop not far away

Cool museum with many different stone and pottery exhibits. I definitely liked the pre Colombian gold museum better though. This place can be pricey for a tourist of you dont have a student ID.

This museum born in 1977 and was founded by the first president of the National Insurance Institute, Fidel Tristán Castro, today the museum bears his name. Originally located in the 11 floor of the INS building, it reside in a new home since 2014 one block west of the National Museum. This place holds one of the biggest collections of Jade gold and stone jewelry as well as ceramic and stone artifacts and other pieces from 500 BC to 800 AD separated y five rooms in three floors. Here you can also find a room for temporary exhibitions for national and international artist.

(Translated by Google) This is my home (Original) Esta es mi casa

This is one of my favourite museums in the world, clean and fresh in the middle of the city. With amazing sculptures and great exhibitions.

(Translated by Google) Super luxurious, many pre-Columbian pieces. The order of the pieces. (Original) Super lujoso, muchas piezas precolombinas. El orden de las piezas.

(Translated by Google) Culture art (Original) Arte cultura

(Translated by Google) Beautiful architecturally and unique for its historical elements. The help of the staff was not so good and the lack of places or benches to rest elderly people. Some architectural flaws for people who move in wheelchairs. (Original) Hermoso arquitectonicamente y único por sus elementos históricos. No fue tan buena la ayuda del personal y falta de lugares o bancos para reposar personas mayores. Algunas fallas arquitectónicas para personas que se movilicen en sillas de ruedas.

This excellent museum contains many examples of Jade and Pre Columbian art. It also includes some Pre Columbian Gold art. It's well organized on 4 floors of exhibits including the history of the Jade art in the Central American region. Definitely worth the $15 US admission. Please allow at least 2 hours so latest start time would be around 3 pm as the museum closex at 5 pm

(Translated by Google) Good place to learn a little about the culture of Costa Rica (Original) Buen lugar para conocer un poco sobre la cultura de Costa Rica

It's nice but I find it a little boring

(Translated by Google) The entrance for the nationals is quite expensive, more it is an interesting place to visit (Original) La entrada para los nacionales está bastante cara, más es un interesante lugar por visitar

(Translated by Google) Part of our ancestors. Every tourist and resident should go. It must be a requirement. (Original) Parte de nuestros antepasados. Todo turista y residente debería ir. Debe ser un requisito.

(Translated by Google) Beautiful place.Well designed (Original) Hermoso lugar.bien diseñado

This is a massive museum and it is very interactive for all ages they contain things for both adults and children. The collection of jade at this museum is enormous and is very well preserved and maintained.

(Translated by Google) Our visit to the Museum resulted in a wonderful experience. From the outset, the established health protocols for the prevention of COVID are strict and meet and exceed all expectations. The staff in all areas are extremely attentive and helpful, and the guides explain and answer queries with great knowledge and passion for what they do. I recommend, especially to parents, that they take their children, young people and adolescents to this Museum so that their cultural knowledge is expanded and that they feel the great achievements that this country has in matters of history, culture and the arts. I congratulate all the officials of this INS Jade Museum, for their great charisma in attending to visitors. (Original) Nuestra visita al Museo resultó en una experiencia maravillosa. Desde la entrada, los protocolos sanitarios establecidos para la prevención del COVID son estrictos y cumplen y superan todas las expectativas. El personal de todas las áreas es sumamente atento y servicial, y los guías dan explicaciones y atienden consultas con gran conocimiento y pasión por lo que hacen. Recomiendo, especialmente a los padres de familia, que lleven a sus hijos, pequeños y adolescentes, a este Museo para que su conocimiento cultural se amplíe y para que palpen los grandes logros que este país tiene en temas de historia, cultura y artes. Felicito a todos los funcionarios de este Museo del Jade del INS, por su gran carisma para atender a los visitantes.

(Translated by Google) I love (Original) Me encato

(Translated by Google) An experience that every Tico should enjoy. (Original) Una experiencia que todo Tico debería disfrutar.

fgh

(Translated by Google) A place you must know in the capital of San José (Original) Un lugar que debes conocer en la capital de San José

(Translated by Google) Through it you can walk. Sometimes walking. Yes. Pre and Columbian, all at the same time and without mixing. (Original) Por el puedes caminar. Aveces andar. Si. Pre y colombino, todo a la vez y sin mezclar.

(Translated by Google) One of the most interesting museums in Costa Rica, and very beautiful. (Original) Uno de los museos más interesantes de Costa Rica, y muy bonito.

This is a must-see when in San Jose