The 'Memory of water' Museum opens its doors in Níjar
December 1, 2010
The Chairman of Cajamar, Antonio Pérez Lao and the Mayor of Níjar, Antonio Jesús Rodríguez, inaugurated the past 12 days the Museum 'Memory of water'. After the usual ribbon-cutting, the facility opened its doors to the audience. Later, the director of the project, Rodolfo Caparrós, led a tour to discover the exhibition mounting.
The Cajamar Foundation, through an agreement with the city of Nijar, has provided more than a year of effort for the implementation of this museum. To this end, the old building of the market of Almeria municipality has recovered. The water takes center stage in this space: becomes as Narrator of the story of a caraterizado place for its aridity, as it is the territory of the region of Níjar. The inhabitants of this town have had, since ancient times, to solve problems related to the collection and use of water. The brand new Museum collects, of didactic and interactive, the historical evolution and inheritance of obtaining water in arid areas.
The Museum content is displayed in the central area of the ground floor, leaving the units for administrative services and management, toilets and store, while the second floor houses the center of documentation of the Museum. The installation aims to provide a response to a question: If the water is vital for life, and even more in a very arid area, is how communities have achieved survive and thrive? In this regard, has occupied a central space with four interactive displays that relate to: water and life, the cycle of water, the water and the climate and the arid Southeast. The answer to that question is deployed in eight panels, which make reference to key times in the use of water in the territory of Níjar. 8 Now are: the first settlers, the Mediterranean colonizers, the Christian period, the alumbres of Rodalquilar, livestock and drylands, modern projects. The reservoir of Isabel II, colonization and desalination. Also, four side panels try to cross-cutting themes and accompany and complement the eight historical panels.
Another highlight is all the infographic offer virtual reality that offer educational materials about the functioning of the various artifacts of traditional hydraulics. Thus, the visitor not only becomes an idea but that entered 'in a virtual way' in a well, in the machinery of a molina, in the glass of a cistern, or discover the different parts of a water mill.