The Aruba Historical Museum

Willem III Tower

The Historical Museum of Aruba

The Aruban Historical museum was established by the CCA - Cultureel Centrum van Aruba - (Cultural Center Aruba Foundation) in 1983 when the restoration of the Fort Zoutman Willem III Tower was completed. On the 16th of march 1992 the "Fundacion Museo Arubano" was founded which since then has been administrating the Aruba Historical museum.

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Exposition: "Aruba: Milestones and Challenges"

On April 20, 2001 during a festive ceremony in honour of an official visit of the Dutch Crown Prince Willem Alexander, the exposition titled "Aruba: Milestones and Challenges" was opened at the Historical Museum in the Fort Zoutman building. The exposition gives an impression of the development of Aruba from the pre-historic age up to today. In an interactive setup, visitors can enjoy different topics such as Aruba's geology, nature, industrial history, archeaolgy, art, education and Aruban society in general. The exposition will be open for the public until the end of August.

AIRPORT REINA BEATRIX

On July 1925, the hydro aircraft "IDOR" landed as
the first plane on Aruba in the bay of horses harbor
of Oranjestad. The fokker aircraft "SNIP" landed
on December 23, 1934 at Savaneta airport.

On October 22, 1955 the name of Aruba's third
airport is changed to Princess Beatrix Airport.
The Queen Beatrix Airport is officially opened
in 1972. In 1997 the renovation Project Beatrix
2000 initiated and on September 1955 a soft
opening is held while the completely renovated
airport of Aruba is inaugurated on September 1, 2000.

CENTRAL BANK OF ARUBA

On January 1, 1986, Aruba obtained its "status aparte" (separate status). Prior to that date, Aruba was part of the Netherlands Antilles. Upon the inception of the Status Aparte, and pursuant to the Central Bank Ordinance (1991) a new monetary authority, the Centrale Bank Van Aruba, was established.

Simultaneously, a new legal tender, the Aruban Florin,was introduced at a fixed exchange rate with the u.s. dollar (Afl. 1,79 - US$ 1.00). The bank is a legal entity in itself (sui generis) with an autonomous position within Aruba's public sector. The name florin is derived from the Italian word "florino".Florino means flower and is one of the most popular coins for more than 4 centuries. Various nations have used the denomination florin. At the moment Aruba is the only country in the world that uses the florin in its bills and coins.

YOTIN CORTA

Due to a the scarcity of coins, people began to cut
the 8 "reales" in 4 equal pieces. The triangular coin
was cut with a "guillotine". Through the years the
word guillotine degenerated to the word yotin.

ARIKOK NATIONAL PARK

SHOCO

The interesting Shoco (owl) is a native bird of prey that
normally hunts at night.

ARCHAEOLOGY

A Ceramic Baking Tray

An Indian woman of the Caquetio tribe used this ceramic baking-tray between 1100 - 1350 in Santa Cruz. From the form we can deduce that its owner used the ceramic baking tray to bake a type of pancake made from corn wheat.

When she died the ceramic baking tray was buried with her. This shows the importance of her baking in the community.

KITES

As soon as the Lent Season begins, Arubans start making kites for recreation, as well as for competition.

Originally kites were made of dry cactus.

Making kites and flying them on the "Queen's Day" (April 30th) is a tradition that encourages the participation of the both old and the young.

ALOE VERA

Alo� Vera is an imported plant that favors a dry climate. From 1840 'till the opening of the Lago Refinery nearly every Aruban produced aloe vera. Large plantations were situated in Socotoro and Mon Plaisir. Nowadays the Aruba Aloe Balm N.V. uses aloe vera especially as a raw product for skin care products.

ARCHITECTURE

The houses of the Caiquetio (1000 - 1515),
were made in oval forms from local tree trunks.
A wooden fence surrounded the village.

...

ARUBAN HORTICULTURE

Commercial horticulture consists of small farms.
There are about 40 entrepreneurs who cultivate
approximately 25 hectares - mostly part time.
Agricultural products vary from eggplants to sweet
potatoes. Peanuts (12 hectares), okra (6 hectares)
and hot peppers take up most of the cultivated areas.

[ All information courtesy of Rebecca Roos & the Aruba Historical Museum ]

The Aruba Historical Museum gladly accepts your donations. You can
transfer your donations to our bank account at Interbank Aruba N.V.
Acc. nr. 120002175 i.n.o. "Fundashon Museo Arubano"

The Historical Museum of Aruba
Fortzoutmanstraat z/n
Oranjestad, Aruba
Tel.: (297) 5826099

Opening hours:
Mondays through Fridays,
9:00 am - noon / 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Entrance $1.25

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MARCH 15 2001

[ This page was last updated on Monday, January 05, 2009 ]

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