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‘The inexhaustible desire of knowledge about the phenomena of nature has led mankind to extend the field of investigations to the depths of the planet, in a voyage of discovery which is immersed in a highly evoca-tive atmosphere tinged with a vague sense of fear. ‘Jour-ney to the centre of the Earth’ accompanies us on this expedition with a four-part explanatory and educa-tional exhibition. The first section offers a vision of the world as a whole, with an analysis of its characteristics and a compilation of a number of important measurements such as mass and dimension, inviting visitors to evaluate the planet personally while a computer processes the data acquired. In the second section visitors can examine some of the fissures which Nature herself has provided to satisfy human curiosity, and which facilitate the accumulation of information concerning subterranean phenomena. Models and other exhibits are used to illustrate the characteristics of volcanoes and geysers, indicators of the continuous turmoil created by enormous quantities of thermal energy, and of canyons, which allow fossils, the movement of the terrestrial crust and the stratification of rocks to be studied. The final part of this section is devoted to human efforts to approach the interior of the planet, either by means of caves or progressively deeper bore-holes, or by immersions in the abysses of the oceans. The exhibition continues with a description of the prin-cipal dynamic characteristics of the earth\u2019s surface, ex-ternal symptoms of a tremendous underground turbu-lence. Earthquakes, the building an metamorphosis of mountains, the formation of ocean beds and the drift of continents offer important elements for the study of the strata which lie immediately below the surface. Apart from describing these phenomena, the exhibition also offers information about their prediction and measurement. The final section presents a hypothetical model of the inside of the planet, based on the most recent and ac-credited geophysical information available. Visitors will find this information displayed on an extraordinary exhibit which can be examined layer after layer.’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
‘The inexhaustible desire of knowledge about the phenomena of nature has led mankind to extend the field of investigations to the depths of the planet, in a voyage of … <\/p>\n