Museums of the Panama Canal
- Dr Roslyn Russell
- Mar 27
- 1 min read
Friends Review, Australian Federation of Friends of Museums (AFFM)
August 2025
Abstract
This article explores the museums of the Panama Canal as sites for interpreting one of the most significant engineering projects of the twentieth century and the complex human histories behind it. Focusing on the Panama Canal Museum and the Afro-Antillean Museum in Panama City, it highlights how these institutions present the construction of the Canal alongside the experiences of the diverse labour force, particularly the West Indian workers known as the ‘Silver Men’.
Through exhibitions, archival materials and community histories, the article reflects on the ways in which museums address themes of labour, migration, race and empire, and how these narratives are shaped by both national and international perspectives. It also considers the broader experience of visiting the Canal itself, where the scale of the engineering achievement is intertwined with the layered histories of those who built and inhabited this global crossroads.