Museo Pedagogico Jose Pedro Varela (Jose Pedro Varela Pedagogical Museum), Montevideo

Museo Pedagogico Jose Pedro Varela (Jose Pedro Varela Pedagogical Museum), Montevideo

The Jose Pedro Varela Pedagogical Museum, situated in front of Plaza Cagancha in Montevideo, serves as a focal point for exploring the history and evolution of education in Uruguay. Established on January 25, 1889, by Don Alberto Gómez Ruano, the museum celebrates the Varelian Reform—an influential educational movement championed by José Pedro Varela, characterized by its core principles of gratuity, secularism, and obligation.

Originally built between 1884 and 1886, the edifice was intended to house the Normal Boarding School for Young Ladies, along with the pedagogical library and the current museum. This dual-functioning building was instrumental in training future educators, where the upper floors served as a boarding school and the ground floor hosted the Young Ladies' Application School. This model school exemplified Varela’s educational reforms by providing practical training for boarding school students.

The José Pedro Varela Pedagogical Museum offers a comprehensive glimpse into the educational practices of the past century. Exhibits display an array of furniture, documents, school supplies, and personal items from various educational institutions and figures. The museum also features an interactive corner where visitors can engage with historical educational tools such as pens and ink, reminiscent of the era’s teaching methods.

Additionally, the museum includes a research library, and conference room, and hosts concerts, enhancing its role as a cultural and educational hub. Free to the public and particularly recommended for families, teachers, and education students, the museum not only highlights the achievements of Uruguayan pedagogy but also serves as an inspiration for educational practices throughout Latin America.

Want to visit this sight? Check out these Self-Guided Walking Tours in Montevideo. Alternatively, you can download the mobile app "GPSmyCity: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.

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Museo Pedagogico Jose Pedro Varela (Jose Pedro Varela Pedagogical Museum) on Map

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Leaflet © OpenStreetMap contributors
Sight Name: Museo Pedagogico Jose Pedro Varela (Jose Pedro Varela Pedagogical Museum)
Sight Location: Montevideo, Uruguay (See walking tours in Montevideo)
Sight Type: Museum/Gallery

Walking Tours in Montevideo, Uruguay

Create Your Own Walk in Montevideo

Create Your Own Walk in Montevideo

Creating your own self-guided walk in Montevideo is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
Prado District Walking Tour

Prado District Walking Tour

A quiet, upscale barrio El Prado, in the north of Montevideo, is famous primarily for the sprawling park of the same name. Indeed, the city’s main green space, Parque del Prado is a major public venue made up of grassy fields, with the Arroyo Miguelete (Miguelete Creek) running through it, for which the neighborhood has been dubbed "the lung of the city".

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Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.6 Km or 2.2 Miles
Montevideo Old Town Walking Tour

Montevideo Old Town Walking Tour

In 1683, the Portuguese founded a city called Colonia do Sacramento across the bay from Buenos Aires. Field marshal Manuel da Fonseca built a fort there he called Montevieu. In 1724, the Spanish governor of Buenos Aires, one-armed Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, forced the Portuguese out and changed the name of the city.

Bruno and the Spanish settlers called their new city "Saint Philip and...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.5 Km or 1.6 Miles