Page 72 - Erasmus Let's be Eco-sustainAble, towards 2030 Dissemination Activity book

Activity - Exploring, Filming, Documenting the Troodos Geopark Centre

The Troodos Geopark (an area of 1.147 km2) Visitor Centre is located in the old Asbestos mine (Amiantos mine), an area with enormous
historical value which now hosts an extraordinary botanical garden with information about the flora of the area, a seed bank of
endemic species and also a plethora of evidence for the past mining activity and the community which once flourished there. The
Geopark Visitor Centre is situated in the newly restored elementary school of the abandoned asbestos mine. The building is an
impressive listed structure and an example of fine architecture with historic characteristics and features such as its fireplaces, one in

every room, and a beautiful internal yard.
At the entrance of the Geopark Visitor Centre the visitors are welcomed by an amazing geological garden consisting of all the rock types

encountered in the area, in stratigraphic order, representing the Troodos ophiolite sequence. An outdoor classroom is operated in the
garden of the centre, where interactive lessons and demonstrations are delivered to visiting students and the general public. Impressive
rocks and minerals, a maquette of the geology of the area, depicting sites of geological importance and interest (faults, mines, geo-
trails, etc.), informational panels and a conference room where the visitor can watch documentaries, of the significance of the geology
of the Troodos mountain range are only some of the exhibits in the visitor centre.

The Geopark Visitor Center also, hosts exhibits of the abandoned Asbestos and Chromite mines, representations of an ancient pyro-
metallurgical furnace for the production of copper and a gallery of the last century for the exploitation of sulphate deposits. Finally, on
the way out a shop gives the opportunity to the visitor to buy handcrafted art products and other geo-products, made by raw materials

encountered in the Troodos area, as well as an eco-tourism guide and the Troodos documentary movie.

We are confident, that a visit at the Geopark Visitor Center will be an interesting educational journey for the visitor providing an inside
to the geological uniqueness of the Troodos area, the most complete piece of oceanic crust on earth. Troodos has been and still is the
scientific inspiration of geoscientists from all over the world enlightening them of the geological processes that are taking place in the
depths of the recent oceans and the formation of new oceanic crust.

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