University City in Mexico City "Ciudad Universitaria" (University City) is UNAM's main campus, located within the
Coyoacán borough in the southern part of Mexico City. The construction of UNAM's central campus was the original idea of two students from the National School of Architecture in 1928: Mauricio De Maria y Campos and Marcial Gutiérrez Camarena. It was designed by architects
Mario Pani, Armando Franco Rovira,
Enrique del Moral,
Eugenio Peschard, Ernesto Gómez Gallardo Argüelles,
Domingo García Ramos, and others such as Mauricio De Maria y Campos who always showed great interest in participating in the project. Architects De Maria y Campos, Del Moral, and Pani were given the responsibility as directors and coordinators to assign each architect to each selected building or constructions which enclose the
Estadio Olímpico Universitario, about 40 schools and institutes, the Cultural Center, an ecological reserve, the
Central Library, the
National Library of Mexico and a few museums. It was built during the 1950s on an ancient solidified lava bed to replace the scattered buildings in downtown
Mexico City, where classes were given. It was completed in 1954, and is almost a separate region within Mexico City, with its own regulations, councils, police, transportation and even a supermarket. In June 2007, its main campus,
Ciudad Universitaria, was declared a
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Satellite campuses Apart from University City (Ciudad Universitaria), UNAM has several campuses in the
Metropolitan Area of Mexico City (Acatlán, Aragón, Cuautitlán, Iztacala, and Zaragoza), as well as many others in several locations across Mexico (in
Santiago de Querétaro,
Morelia,
Mérida,
Sisal,
Ensenada,
Cuernavaca,
Temixco and
Leon), mainly aimed at research and graduate studies. Its School of Music, formerly the National School of Music, is located in Coyoacán. Its Center of Teaching for Foreigners has a campus in
Taxco, in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, focusing in Spanish language and Mexican culture for foreigners, as well as locations in the upscale neighborhood of
Polanco in central Mexico City. The university has extension schools in the United States, and Canada, focusing on the Spanish language, English language, Mexican culture, and, in the case of UNAM Canada, French language: UNAM
San Antonio, Texas; UNAM
Los Angeles, California; UNAM
Chicago, Illinois;
Gatineau, Quebec; and Seattle, Washington. It operates Centers for Mexican Studies and/or Centers of Teaching for Foreigners in Beijing, China (jointly with the
Beijing Foreign Studies University); Madrid, Spain (jointly with the
Cervantes Institute); San Jose, Costa Rica (jointly with the
University of Costa Rica); London, United Kingdom (with
King's College London); Paris, France (jointly with
Paris-Sorbonne University); and Northridge, California, United States (jointly with
California State University Northridge).
Museums and buildings of interest Palacio de Minería . Under the care of the
School of Engineering, UNAM, the Colonial Palace of Mining is located in the historical center of Mexico City. Formerly the School of Engineering, it has three floors, and hosts the International Book Expo ("Feria Internacional del Libro" or "FIL") and the International Day of Computing Security Congress ("DISC"). It also has a permanent exhibition of historical books, mostly topographical and naturalist works of 19th-century Mexican scientists, in the former library of the School of Engineers. It also contains several exhibitions related to mining, the prime engineering occupation during the Spanish colonization. It is considered to be one of the most significant examples of Mexican architecture of its period, conceived by Manuel Tolsa during de Spanish colonial rule in a neoclassical style (18th century). It hosts every year one of Mexico's top book fairs, known in Spanish as
Feria Internacional del Libro de Palacio de Mineria. Which is more than 40 years old and has each year more than 100,000 attendants.
Casa del Lago The House of the Lake, in
Chapultepec Park, is a place devoted to cultural activities, including dancing, theater, and ballet. It also serves as a meeting place for university-related organizations and committees.
National Biodiversity Pavilion Opened in 2021, with the sponsorship of
Carlos Slim, the museum hosts a number of permanent exhibits which consist mostly on samples of local flora and fauna from Mexico.
Museum of San Ildefonso This museum and cultural center is considered to be the birthplace of the
Mexican muralism movement. San Ildefonso began as a prestigious
Jesuit boarding school, and after the
Reform War, it gained educational prestige again as
National Preparatory School, which was closely linked to the founding of UNAM. This school, and the building, closed completely in 1978, then reopened as a museum and cultural center in 1994, administered jointly by UNAM, the National Council for Culture and Arts and the government of the Federal District of Mexico City. The museum has permanent and temporary art and archaeological exhibitions, in addition to the many murals painted on its walls by
José Clemente Orozco,
Diego Rivera and others. The complex is located between San Ildefonso Street and Justo Sierra Street in the
historic center of
Mexico City. It served the National Museum of Natural History for almost 50 years, and is now devoted to the temporary exhibitions of visual arts.
Museo Experimental El Eco The Museo Experimental El Eco is one of the two buildings by German modern artist
Mathias Goeritz and an example of Emotional architecture. Goeritz was a close collaborator of architect
Luis Barragán and author of several public sculptures including the Torres de Satélite. The building was acquired and renovated by the National University in 2004 and since 2005 it exhibits contemporary art and a yearly architecture competition Pabellón Eco.
National Astronomical Observatory in
Baja California. The National Astronomical Observatory is located in the
Sierra San Pedro Mártir mountain range in
Baja California, about 130 km south of
United States-Mexican border. It has been in operation since 1970, and it currently has three large reflecting telescopes. ==Academics==