“AEGEAN - Creation of an Archipelago” narrates through rare exhibits, a wealth of photographic material and audiovisual productions, the evolution of the Aegean Sea, spanning millions of years. At the same time, it presents in an impressive and attractive way the islands and the coasts, the flora and fauna, the lifeforms of the Archipelago, as well as the natural phenomena for whose interpretation man created myths and art.
The story of Aegean's creation is full of geological transformations, volcanic eruptions, island formations, extinct civilisations and mythical figures. The exhibition invites children and adults to dive beneath the surface of the Aegean Sea and rediscover its literally groundbreaking history, from the viewpoint of volcanology, mineralogy and palaeontology.
The central section, “GAIA MEMORIES: from Tethys to Aegean”, presents the geological history of the area, from the vast ocean of Tethys, to the emergence of the landmass of mythical Aegaeis and finally to the shaping of the contemporary Greek archipelago.
The islands and seas, the geological monuments and the diversity of landscapes, the water element and the emergence of land, together with impressive exhibits of geological formations and a 14-meter long petrified tree trunk are this section's elements.
The second section, “To the islands of Hephaestus and Poseidon”, presents the geodynamic processes in the Aegean Sea, as well as the volcanic and seismic activity that created the Archipelago. An activity which led to numerous volcanic eruptions during the past and continues even today.
It is because of these processes that we now enjoy some of the most beautiful Aegean islands, such as Santorini, Kos, Nisyros, Milos, Kimolos, Lesvos, Lemnos, Samothrace and many more, which appear on a floor map accompanied with characteristic rocks and fossils.
The section, “GAIA: from myth to science”, presents the impressive past biodiversity of the Aegean through a wealth of plant and animal fossils that narrate the exciting history of life and the ecosystems in the Aegean basin through the last 150 million years.
The wealth of the Aegean fossils is expressed through the Lesvos Petrified Forest, fossils of mammals and early hominids. Images of contemporary trees along with their corresponding fossilized ancestral forms and reconstructions of animals among them will create an impressive setting for the visitor.
The exhibition, beyond its scientific adequacy and educational character, aims to transmit to visitors the power of the landscapes and the beauty of the Aegean Sea using modern ways of presentation, where exhibits, images and audiovisuals compose a strong visual and communicational outcome, able to attract and impress a wide audience.
An initiative of the Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest, this original exhibition, titled “Aegean – Creation of an Archipelago,” is taking place in cooperation with the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki’s Geology and Paleontology Museum and the University of Crete’s Natural History Museum. It has already been shown at the Noesis Science Center and Technology Museum in Thessaloniki and will remain on display in Athens – in an enriched version – through October at the Eugenides Foundation, before continuing to other venues in Greece and abroad.
For more information visit the Websites: www.aegean-exhibition.org - www.eef.edu.gr
Source: Aegeon Exhibition Org [September 12, 2014]