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Museum Explores the Canary IslandsVolcanic Eruptions, Real Mummies, Giant Squid & Early ExplorersDiscover how volcanoes formed Spain's Islands in the Atlantic, how early inhabitants mummified their dead and how bounty from the Americas made Tenerife rich.
For a small island best known for its sunny warm beaches, Tenerife is rich in museums that explore its culture and its past. Projects of the government of Tenerife (the Cabildo) museums located in the major cities or regions of the island help visitors learn about the Canaries and their natural and human history. Museo de la Naturaleza y el HombreEach focuses on a different part of the story of the land and the peoples who have lived there. The best place to begin is at the Museum of Nature and Man, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the island's capital. Really two museums in one building, these well-displayed and engaging exhibits put the islands in a new perspective as far more than a sandy playground.. The museum's layout is user-friendly, beginning on the ground floor of one side and progressing upward to tell the story of the islands' fiery formation and geology, and of the fascinating Guanches who inhabited them before the Spanish conquest. Visitors curious about this pre-Spanish history and inhabitants of the archipelago can identify sites to explore on all the islands -- information hard to find in tourism offices. Photos, models and interactive maps here help locate archaeological sites on all the islands. Real MummiesMost visitors are surprised to learn that the Guanches mummified their dead, and that some of these mummies survive to this day – despite the fact that the early priests who arrived here with the Spanish sought these out and destroyed those they found. Kids, especially, love these mummies, shown at kids-eye level. Along with being well displayed, these mummies are well interpreted, and further exhibits demonstrate how archaeologists learn about the life, work, diseases and diet of ancient peoples from examining the bones. Whales and DolphinsSea-life exhibits are at the beginning of the second wing's displays, on the top floor so that those touring the museum can work their way back down top street level. Since whale watching is a popular excursion from the southwest coast embarking on a whale watch, this is a good first stop to learn about whales, dolphins and other island sea creatures. A giant squid suspended from the ceiling overhead. More displays show the birds, trees, animals and lizards found in the Canaries, along with something of the early explorers and mariners who passed through these islands when they were the last stop for Europeans bound into the great unknown of the Atlantic. The Museum of Nature and Man is on Calle Fuente Morales, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife (922 209 320) and is open Tues--Sun 9—7. It is a short walk from the city's central bus/Tranvia tram station, and from downtown Santa Cruz.
The copyright of the article Museum Explores the Canary Islands in Spain Travel is owned by Barbara Rogers. Permission to republish Museum Explores the Canary Islands in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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