Site - UTAD Geology Museum, Vila Real

The Geology Museum of the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD, Vila Real), founded by Prof. Dr. Fernando Real, a noted geologist and Magnificent Rector, was opened to the public in 1986. At the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of its existence, it was renamed as Fernando Real Geology Museum, in honour to its founder. It has an approximate area of 250 square meters in which the permanent exhibition is patent and, since 2011, a temporary exhibition room with an area of 100 square meters. It exhibits collections of minerals, rocks and fossils, a valuable collection of samples from around the world, among which stand out wonderful examples of minerals and ores from the main Portuguese mines. The Fernando Real Geology Museum has as its primary objective, to be a living space where UTAD students and visitors, particularly students and teachers of all school levels, find answers to the multiple questions related to Earth Sciences and the incentive for the carrying out "research", works and projects in the various domains of Geology. It also aims to promote the dissemination and communication of science and geological resources, contributing to the scientific literacy of the general public. Currently, the Museum has embraced a new project, still embryonic, which opens its doors to the outside through the creation of the "Geological Garden of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro", which makes available, to EcoCampus, a set of geological stations, which allow the visitor to observe and understand geological aspects of the region.