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Madrid, December 22, 2022 - The Illustrious Official College of Geologists (ICOG) proposes 9 Christmas plans of geological interest to enjoy with the family and delve into the rich natural heritage that we have in Spain.
1. Geomining Museum, (Madrid)
It is one of the most spectacular museums in the capital. Its objective is to investigate, preserve and disseminate the richness and diversity of the geological heritage through important collections from all Spanish regions and former colonial territories, as well as representative sites of the world record. The visit to the Geomining Museum allows us to witness the geological evolution of our planet over time, thanks to its extensive display of minerals, rocks and fossils.
To the scientific importance of these collections, we must add their historical value, since their origin dates back to the creation of the Commission for the Geological Map of Spain in 1849. Since then they have been nourished mainly by the work carried out by the IGME (Instituto Geológico and Mining of Spain).
More information: //www.igme.es/museo/
2. Álava Museum of Natural Sciences (Vitoria)
The Museum is located in the historic building of the tower of Doña Ochanda. Inside, the paleontological and mineralogical collections stand out. The paleontological richness of the Basque-Cantabrian Basin in general and of the Álava province in particular, has contributed an unusual number of specimens, coming from paleontological sites of notable singularity.
The mineralogical collections are the ones that present the highest growth rate at present. Just over 90% of the specimens come from the Iberian Peninsula. It abounds in classical pieces extracted in the first half of the 20th century, but its authentic level of representation corresponds to the second half of the century. More information: https://naturazientzienmuseoa.eus/es/ini...
3. Dinópolis (Teruel) Formed by a large central park in Teruel and seven more centers in seven towns in its province, Dinópolis combines science and fun so that you experience the fascinating world of dinosaurs up close.
A journey of 4,500 million years in which you will listen to the first heartbeats of the Earth, you will discover how life arose and with it the most extraordinary creatures that have ever existed... The dinosaurs!
More information: https://www.dinopolis.com/
4. Geode of Pulpí and Mina Rica de Pilar de Jaravía (Almería)
It is the largest known geode (rocky cavity lined with crystals) and a rich mining heritage and is within the reach of anyone who wants to visit the Almería municipality of Pulpí.
A visit accompanied by guides with excellent training and even better predisposition, through the bowels of the earth, visiting the galleries that the miners dug with great effort, is undoubtedly one of the most attractive plans offered by the southeast of the peninsula. Even more so, if the visit ends being able to observe the enormous plaster crystals of the geode.
In addition, linked to the geode, there are other high-level tourist products, such as the virtual tour of the castle of San Juan de Los Terreros (recommended after seeing the real geode) and the black room in the Pulpí Scenic Area. .
More information: //www.geodapulpi.es/
5. Museum of Natural Sciences of Viso del Marqués (Ciudad Real) The AVAN Museum of Natural Sciences was born in 1988 from the passion of nature lovers. It is a unique proposal that surprises the traveler with the quantity and quality of its natural science collections, exhibited on two floors and 9 rooms. And the most curious thing is that it is located in a town of just over 2,000 inhabitants.
There are rooms dedicated to rocks, minerals, fossils, fauna, mycology or entomology. All the collections are accompanied by explanatory posters and panels.
More information: https://www.museoavan.es/
6. Mining Museum of Extremadura and mineral luminescence Minas de Santa Marta (Badajoz)
The Extremadura Mining Museum is located in the old House of the Mining Specialist in Santa Marta. It is structured in three spaces, one on each floor. On the ground floor there are four rooms, in which minerals, rocks, wagons and mining tools from the Santa Marta Mines and other mines from the late 19th and early 20th centuries are exhibited.
On the top floor of the museum, a neomine of about 25 meters of development has been built. The setting is very realistic: lighting, noise, minerals on the walls and vaults of the gallery, drilling hammers, mining shoring and makes the visitor go back in time and go underground for a few minutes, in which they can experience what was an underground mine a century ago.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/mugemisa/
7. Olot Crater Space (Girona)
The Espai Cràter is home to the reference exhibition in the field of volcanology. This interactive exhibition explains the volcanoes of La Garrotxa and the world, as well as the relationship between volcanoes and their environment. The exhibition consists of audiovisual media, photographs, virtual reality, video cartography, a 15 m2 model that explains the formation of La Garrotxa and many other surprises. The exhibition is located on the Puig del Roser volcano in Olot, allowing you to learn about volcanoes from inside this volcano and can be visited during a wide time slot, from Monday to Sunday.
This space is a multidisciplinary center that promotes knowledge about volcanoes, science and society. A contemporary project that works in an innovative, experiential and participatory way, with the aim of being a meeting point for the educational, social and scientific community to promote ideas that help preserve the landscape, understand the world and create a better society. .
More information: https://espaicrater.com/
8. Valseca Geomuseum (Segovia)
A different space where you can see and touch the lava and ashes ejected by the volcano on La Palma or where you can learn that a lightning strike on some soils is capable of forming a mineral.
A museum also to enjoy with the five senses (seeing, touching, smelling, listening and even tasting). The Valseca GeoMuseum is located just 9 kilometers from Segovia (World Heritage City and international gastronomic destination) and less than an hour from Madrid, Valladolid and Ávila.
A collection of 1,500 pieces is on display, including minerals, rocks and fossils, and other curiosities related to stonework and mining. More information: https://www.geologiadesegovia.info/museo...
9. Quiroga Geological Museum in the Montañas do Courel Geopark (Lugo) The Montañas do Courel Geopark encompasses the municipalities of Quiroga, Folgoso do Courel and Ribas de Sil, in the south of the province of Lugo, and constitutes one of the great values natural and cultural of Galicia. In its 578 km2 of extension, this territory extends from the Sil River valley in the south, where the largest populations settle, to the Courel Mountains in the north, where more than 50 suggestive traditional villages are hidden.The Mountains do Courel treasure a rich and varied geological heritage closely related to the use of construction rocks, industrial minerals and other geological resources, since prehistoric times.
The Quiroga Municipal Geological Museum is one of the pillars of the Geopark and is part of its network of interpretation centers, such as the Devesa da Rogueira Nature Classroom, the Meiraos Caves Interpretation Center, the Ethnographic Museum of Quiroga and that of the Roman gold mining of Ribas de Sil.
More information: https://geoparques.es/portfolio_page/montanas-do-courel/ https://turismo.ribeirasacra.org/museo-geologico-de-quiroga
ISSUER: COLLEGE OF GEOLOGISTS.
