By Mike Faulk
editorial@t…

Ancient skeletons, pre-Columbian artifacts and 100-year-old murals weren’t the only things on hand Friday for inauguration of the National Museum’s new administrative headquarters in the western San José suburb of Pavas.

President Oscar Arias made an appearance and cut the ribbon that officially inaugurated the facility. Culture Minister María Elena Carballo, Banco Nacional General Manager Juan Carlos Corrales and Manuel Araya, president of the National Museum board of directors, were also on hand.

“The opening of the museum’s new headquarters is a sign that we will not lose the battle to conserve our history,” Arias said in a speech before the ribbon cutting.

The building, which was acquired by the government from Banco Nacional in 1998, cost ¢389 million (about $750,000) to renovate. The 17,000-square-meter facility will house administrative offices and facilitate research projects coordinated by the museum.

Air-conditioned warehouses at the facility provide space to store archaeological and historical collections, and moving the headquarters to Pavas creates more space for public exhibitions at the museum’s historic site on Avenida 2 in downtown San José, according to museum officials