Glaciarium is a modern glacier interpretation centre, built to entertain and educate about ice, glaciers and the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. It is located in the town of El Calafate, gateway to glaciers, in the Santa Cruz province, Patagonia, southern Argentina. It opened on January 17, 2011, with a ceremony that was attended by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. The building was designed by the architectural office

Santiago Cordeyro Arquitectos Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, wh ...

and the architect Pablo Güiraldes. The centre is dedicated to ice and glaciers, and is designed to educate visitors about these natural phenomena in depth. The scientific director is glaciologist

Pedro Skvarca Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for '' Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meani ...

. The building is formed by a main hall and three exhibitions halls, a total of . Two halls house the permanent glaciological exhibits that include dioramas, multimedia, 3D models, and other modern resources. The third hall is a cultural venue and movie theatre where 3D documentaries and other films are screened.

Distinctions

The Glaciarium has been declared of interest by the Argentine National Parks Bureau, the Province of Santa Cruz, and the National Congress of Cultural Interest.

Permanent Exhibits

The permanent exhibits cover the formation of glaciers, the early explorers and scientists, how snow turns into ice, how glaciers move, the Earth's past, and the Patagonian glaciers.

Ice Bar

In October 2011, an ice bar opened in the Glaciarium. It was billed as being the only bar in the world constructed completely from glacial ice. Despite being provided with capes, gloves, and boots, patrons are only allowed to stay in the bar for 20 minutes because of the cold.

References

External links

Glaciarium Website

Official Facebook Fan Page of Glaciarium
{{Authority control Natural history museums in Argentina Museums in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina