Geologiczne muzea i parki tematyczne dźwignią edukacji, rozwoju i biznesu

Abstract

Geological museums and theme parks – mainspring of education, development and business.A b s t r a c t. Geodiversity is an important part of environmental and national assets as it plays a fundamental role in contributing to sustainable development. However, it remains one of the least recognised and valued, largely because its attractiveness is still not fully appreciated. Earth sciences inspires our awareness and knowledge. Traditionally, geological museums collected fossils, rocks, minerals and archaeological objects, first to serve the scientific community and then to perform various educational functions for non-specialists. Currently, natural museums frequently became large theme parks, presenting in situ original fossils, models and applying variety of multimedia technologies. On the other hand, such large educational centres serve as nuclei for geoparks (a geopark means a clearly defined territory, which includes a particular geological heritage and a sustainable territorial development strategy supported by a program to promote preserving the geological heritage and development, including the economic one). Therefore, geological museums, theme parks and geoparks work together and they have direct impact on the territory by influencing its inhabitants’ living conditions and environment. The objective is to promote geological knowledge and simultaneously to enable the inhabitants to reappropriate the value of the geological heritage and actively participate in the cultural revitalization of a given territory as a whole. Examples from China and Poland show how it can be done, irrespectively of scale and character of naturalmonuments and geodiversity.