Throughout this trip, I have been astonished by the way that Icelandic people have adapted to the natural landscape to innovate and thrive in this environment. Today, we visited Skógafoss waterfall, where we followed a popular hiking trail to breathtaking views. We then traveled to Skógar Museum, which showcases artifacts of Iceland that provide a better understanding of the country’s history. Following this, we hiked to the Sólheimajökull glacier. We finished the day in Vik, a small town on the southern coast of Iceland.
Throughout our travels today and all week, it is very clear that Iceland’s largest industry is tourism. The stores and sights are obviously catered to tourists as there are many trinkets and collectible items everywhere, and most of the employees speak both English and Icelandic. Before the age of tourism, Icelanders harnessed the unruly land to innovate on the island. The Skógar Museum has done an excellent job at preserving the artifacts of the nation and showing that Icelanders had no choice but to innovate.
The agriculture section of the museum contains tools and utensils used on farms. Our museum guide showed us riding gear, and we were also able to see dairy equipment and wool working equipment throughout the exhibit. Farming households were and still are self-sustaining in the making and maintaining of their equipment. We also viewed fishery equipment that was used by Icelanders to live off the land (or the sea).
The open-air museum gave insight to architectural innovations. Icelanders adapted to the lack of trees and strong weather conditions by building houses of stone with moss roofs. Our museum guide informed us that people lived in these structures until during World War II. These buildings are excellent examples of Iceland’s unique solutions to its environment and challenges.
Inside the museum, you can get a closer look at everyday life in Iceland through the ages. From dress attire to dinnerware and more. Overall, the Skógar Museum has preserved the artifacts of Iceland to keep record of its history to share with anyone who visits. It is an excellent illustration of the unique solutions that Icelanders had for the challenges they faced and the way they innovated to succeed.
During my concluding this blog and getting ready to post, our group celebrated the beautiful view of the northern lights! Since this was a bucket list item for me, I’ll add those pics at the end of the blog!
Swanson School of Engineering 