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The center of the Aranjuez district of Medellín contains some excellent educational and cultural attractions. The best place to see them is at University Station (Estación Universidad), which is a few metro stops north of El Centro. Aranjuez corresponds to Comuna 4 of Medellín.
Parque de Los Deseos
The metro station in Aranjuez exits onto the Parque de Los Deseos (Park of Desires). It’s an interactive space built in 2003 by the city of Medellín and EPM, a local utility company. The park offers eight different attractions representing the dreams, desires, and achievements of humanity. They include a heliostat, a replica Muisca observatory, the world of the winds, a celestial sphere, distant voices, a sundial, an eclipse, and sunshine.
A large open space sitting between the Planetarium and House of Music is used for events. Free concerts, movie nights, art exhibitions, thematic workshops, aerobic exercises, and other events are often held there. A fountain and sandpit are also located at the park.
The first time I visited, Parque de Los Deseos was full of booths featuring local crafts and souvenirs. They were set up as part of the Flower Festival occurring at the time.
House of Music
On the south side of the park is the House of Music (Casa de la Música), which was also built by EPM and the city of Medellín. It has two auditoriums and offers free music and dance training programs, music recitals, and more.
Medellín Planetarium
The Medellín Planetarium (Planetario de Medellín) is located on the north side of the Park of Desires. It features many shows and exhibits about the universe. Admission for foreigners is COP$36,000, and a combo ticket including Parque Explora is COP$83,000 (as of July 2025). It’s open daily.
Medellín Botanical Garden
North of University Station is the Medellín Botanical Garden (Jardín Botánico de Medellín), which is covered in another post. This beautiful botanical garden has several plants and trees from different ecosystems found in Colombia. The paths are pleasant to walk through. I visited when it hosted part of the Flower Festival and a few years later to see the garden in its normal state.
Parque Explora
Across the street is Parque Explora, an award-winning hands-on museum in Aranjuez. It’s a great place to take kids to learn about the human body, physics, and nature.
The museum is open daily except Mondays. Admission for foreigners is COP$55,000, and a combo ticket including the planetarium is COP$83,000 (as of July 2025). Kids under 3 are admitted free of charge. Interpretive panels are in both Spanish and English, and enthusiastic staff members are always available to give talks on certain subjects.
The Human Body
The museum is divided into levels. You start at the top and work your way down. At the top level, we started with an exhibit about the human brain. There are all kinds of puzzles and optical illusions to try to trick your brain.
One of the illusions is a toilet that could be used as a drinking fountain. The panel challenged visitors to take a drink from the toilet, which has never been used and has clean drinking water piped into it. With nobody daring to take a drink, it proves how our minds have strong emotional associations with certain objects.
Next is an exhibit on physics and the human body. Tests for strength, hand-eye coordination, hearing, resistance, and quickness occupy the two floors. Many visitors were groups of friends and family who were challenging each other at these tests.
Reptiles and Amphibians
We made our way down one level to the reptile house. Here, several species of reptiles and amphibians native to Colombia are on display.
Aquarium
The exhibit continues through an excellent aquarium. There are small tanks with tropical fish and some very large tanks with sharks, rays, and other ocean fish.
3D Film
Finally, our visit to the museum finished with a short 3D film. It was about fire ants from the Amazon region and how they’ve made their way to many parts of the world. Not only have the ants survived, but they’ve adapted and thrived in their new environments. It was a fascinating film.
Other Features of Parque Explora
If the exhibits aren’t enough, the museum has a gift shop, café, and many different physics experiments for kids on outside on the ground floor.
University of Antioquia
Finally, to the west of Parque de Los Deseos is the campus of the University of Antioquia (Universidad de Antioquia). It’s the oldest departmental university in Colombia, founded in 1803. When I have a chance, I’ll walk through the campus and add some photos here. There’s also a museum to visit.
