The Future of Eldfjallasafn Volcano Museum in Stykkishólmur, Iceland

The introductory show opening in summer 2009 is the first step towards the establishment of a Volcano Museum in Stykkishólmur. The need for such an institution is clear. Iceland is entirely built of volcanic activity and the history of the Icelanders is intertwined with eruptions, both related to great natural disasters, such as the great Lakagígar eruption in 1783 and the ensuing Great Haze, which led to population decrease of about 24%. Also important are the beneficial aspects of volcanism, such as the geothermal energy. The Volcano Museum will also meet a real need for tourism, both of Icelandic and foreign tourists, who have a great interest in education on the nature of the land. The core of the Volcano Museum is already secure, based on the extensive collection of Haraldur Sigurðsson, and a part of that collection is shown here. In addition, the Volcano Museum will be cross-cultural and consider all aspects of culture, arts and science, which have a bearing on volcanic activity and its impact. In that respect the Museum will be unique globally. In the introductory exhibition in 2009 only a portion of the collection gathered by Haraldur Sigurðsson is presented. In this show the main emphasis is on the connection between the arts and the science of volcanoes.
Other resources in the property of the Volcano Museum is a large library of a few thousand volumes dealing with volcanic activity and related geology, several thousand reprints of scientific articles on volcanoes, other papers, objects and rock collection. The future view of the Volcano Museum is an institute in Stykkishólmur which is mainly a forum to educate the general public about the origin and nature of volcanic eruptions. Because of the special nature of the subject matter that is already available, the Museum is considered a cross-cultural experience, related to the impact of eruptions on art and literature. The Volcano Museum will also participate in scientific research and methods to apply instrumentation to the research on volcanoes, in collaboration with other institutions.
The old community center, built in 1901, serves well to house the introductory exhibition, but is much too small for the Volcano Museum of the future. The town of Stykkishólmur has allocated a plot of land of 2200 square meters alongside this building, which is an ideal location for the Museum.