The Lava Centre, an outstandingly modern and interactive facility, explores Iceland’s spectacular geographical history. From lively volcanic activity and earthquakes to how the island formed, this is a must-do when visiting Iceland with students!
A first-time visit…
As it was our first time visiting the centre, we thought it would be good to share the key takeaways from our time spent here, along with our group of eager-to-learn secondary school students.
On entering the Centre, you are immensely aware that a high-quality experience awaits you. The huge, stylish gift shop selling gifts, clothes and souvenirs is an early indicator of the standards the centre sets out to deliver. There is no doubt that this is a state of the art educational facility, pitched perfectly at engaging and educating secondary school students.
A cinematic journey unfolds
The start of our journey through the centre saw us enter their cinema room, with a range of seating as well as a bean bag area, which students of course made a beeline for! It was a case of race you for it!
Throughout the course of the short film, students fell silent. This cinematic piece of film delivered on every level! It set the scene for the interactive, hands-on nature learning that would follow. You couldn’t help but be drawn into the footage, showing the true scale of the challenges that Iceland has faced over the course of its years. Volcanoes and eruptions are a relentless and spectacular side of the country’s personality – for the first time since starting our journey across Iceland, this was made abundantly clear.
For a taster of what there is to experience in the Lava Centre Cinema – check out the video below:
Stories needing to be told
From Hekla to Eyjafjallajökull, Heimaey to Kraftla, they were all stories that needed to be told. The nature of the country being a melting pot of ferocious volcanic activity was shared in the most beautiful of ways. It was like seeing art unfold before your eyes, the anger and beauty of lava, plumes of smoke filling the skies. You couldn’t help but raise questions about what you were witnessing. The film ended and quiet bubbles of conversations continued – after all, what remains now is right there sitting and waiting to be explored.
Modern, interactive and engaging displays
The exhibits themselves are super modern, with clean, bright lighting and opportunities around every corner for students to interact and engage with Iceland’s history. From pointing laser fingers, standing on vibrating plates, to exploring earthquake zones, viewing interactive interviews and seeking information from the Centre’s live Volcano monitoring systems – the centre has it all!
What a start to the day – followed up by our Super Jeep Adventure and hike! The perfect way to spend a day in Iceland!
Tip to tag on
The road outside the Lava experience is every inch reminiscent of an American highway – large vehicles, big expanses of land and just up from then Centre itself, we discovered the fantastic shop and diner, Björk.
Grabbing a drink and a snack, you definitely had a sense of being transported to the U.S. – it just had that all American Diner vibe! Serving everything you could wish for. Teas and coffees, random household goods, pizzas, ice creams – the perfect stop for a school group!
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