User:Grásíða/sandbox

The Saga Museum of Iceland
The Saga Museum is a historical museum based on the Sagas of Icelanders , chronicles and other ancient written sources about the country and it‘s people. The museum is currently located in Perlan, Reykjavík , the capital of Iceland , but is soon to be moved to Grandi the old harbor of Reykjavík. The moving will take place from the 15th of February 2014 and is due to be opened again at its new location in the beginning of April 2014. The museum is based on the events in the sagas in a chronological order with vivid, full sized figures in a recreation of the historical environment. The museum provides a audio-guide with five different languages, soon to be ten, which leads it's visitors through the seventeen exhibition spots. Unlike most museums photography is allowed through the whole exhibition.

Design
Ernst J. Backman is the museums designer and his revolutionary method of using silicon for the figures skin makes them truly come to life. To strive even further for authenticity the weapons amongs tools and everyday objects are traditionally hand crafted and the clothes are dyed by hand. The museum is designed in a circular area in formerly one of the six water tanks the building was originally made for.

Museums outreach and purpose
The museums purpose is to enlighten people of the history and traditional life of Icelanders from the aspect of the ancient literary sources. The museum main target group is tourists but it also attracts the Icelandic people to learn about their heritage in a fun and visual way. The museum has not been very active in reaching out to the community mainly because there have been no changes in the exhibition since it‘s opening in 2002. The new exhibition place will though be bigger and a promise of an enhanced museum has been made after the movement.