The Museum is located in Nikia and its privileged position at the top of the caldera offers a panoramic view of the inside of the caldera and the volcano.
In this traditional village there used to be an abandoned school, which was restored by the relevant programme and after appropriate transformations and layout arrangements in the building now hosts the Museum. The museum brings life to the village and contributes to the overall tourism growth on the island providing the base of developing another part of alternative tourism.
The entire landscape from the smallest stone to the spectacular caldera can be considered a broader volcanological museum! More so when the museum is housed in an old school in Nikia, on the rim of the Caldera. The spot is ideal, since it offers a panoramic view of the interior of the volcano.
The main sections of the museum host the following topics:
● Genesis and structure of volcanoes.
● Volcanic processes and products.
● Volcanoes of Greece.
● The volcano of Nisyros.
● Other active volcanoes in Greece.
● Volcanoes – Environment – Man.
In the areas of information, observation and experiment, visitors can observe rocks under microscopes. The library houses a fine collection of books and articles on volcanoes and other subjects. Experimental devices are available for younger guests and present simulations of volcanic eruptions. The scientific team that created the museum has made sure that the visitor navigates in an environment that transports him mentally into the volcano itself. The lighting also refers towards the same direction.
Characteristics of formations, maps, cross sections, diagrams, patterns of volcanoes, photographs, three-dimensional animations and computer simulations reveal the geological history, not only of Nisyros, but of the whole Aegean volcanic arc.
Enjoy a unique journey through time …
The relativity of time is the basic feeling one immediately gets from a visit to such a museum. A sense of time that is very different from the one felt by visiting, for example, a historical or archaeological museum. The description on the website of the Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration for Nisyros refers to “recent” volcanic activity in Greece, and as such means the activity that began about 40 million years ago. Here you will have the opportunity to discover the secrets of time on Earth on a scale you’ve never imagined. The creation of successive geological strata measured, not by centuries, but by thousands and millions of years. Just relax and enjoy this unique journey through time …
