Eleventh International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

The scarcity of water in Spain has become one of the most important environmental problems in recent decades. The proliferation of interpretation centers focusing on water issues in Spain is a relevant response to the public awareness needs in the face of its problems. Among the issues that we raised, we highlight to what extent the strategy of construction of Water Interpretation Centers and their contents, methodologies, and resources have contributed effectively to a greater awareness of the population on this topic. We explore how the economic crisis affected this sector. The methodology is based on a descriptive-evaluative research, including preparation of a census of interpretation centers at the state level, design and submission of a form, and data analysis. In conclusion, we reveal that of the 119 centers registered most of them are located in Andalusia and are dependent on public funds. They are mostly hybrid facilities (paramuseos) between the classical concept of a conventional museum of art or natural sciences and the current offices of tourist information and purchase-sale of souvenirs. This chameleonic identity is associated with an ambiguity in its aims that has brought with it difficulties of consolidation and legitimization of the sector. Hence, the effects of the crisis on this type of infrastructure have been noted with a decrease in funding and a decrease in the supply of services, without post-crisis recovery in most of the surveyed centers.