Iceland’s newest museum pays tributes to the volcanic forces that created its land and which, in recent years, have reminded all of us of nature’s power.
It is situated within view of three of Iceland’s best-known volcanoes, including the tongue-twisting Eyjafjallajökull whose 2010 eruption created an ash cloud that disrupted air traffic across the Atlantic and Europe for weeks. A 360° viewing platform looks out on it, and at Katla and Hekla volcanoes.
Inside, the museum features exhibits on the last century of eruptions and their causes. There’s also a 12-metre tall simulation of the earth’s mantle and the plume of magma flowing underneath the country. That so-called “fiery heart of Iceland” is both a threat and the source of the country’s ability to rely on geothermal heating.
There’s also an artificial smoke cloud to walk through, and a corridor that shows how magma flow creates such effects as boiling mud pots and geysers. The museum opens June 1 in Hvolsvöllur, an hour drive east of Reykjavik.
