Timeline

June 1972

First collections on display at the Institute of Geological Research (IIG) in Antofagasta.

August 10 1973

The Former Mejillones Customs Building, a National Monument, is ceded by National Heritage for the installation of a geological museum.

June 27 1974

The first Geological Museum in Chile is officially opened at the Institute of Geological Research (IIG) in Antofagasta.

1978

The Geological Museum is transferred to the Department of Geology at the Universidad del Norte.

1981

New project launched to install the Geological Museum at the Ruins of Huanchaca.

August 14 1985

The Geological Museum is installed at the Campus of the Universidad Católica del Norte (UCN) and is given the name of Professor Humberto Fuenzalida V. Geological Museum.

1996

UCN and other institutions support the initiative of Proa Corporation to install the museum at the Ruins of Huanchaca, as originally proposed in 1981.

May 25 2010

The Museum of the Atacama Desert is launched at the Ruins of Huanchaca, with the collections of the Humberto Fuenzalida V. Geological Museum as the base of its permanent collection, under loan or sharing arrangement.

September 2012

The Humberto Fuenzalida V. Geological Museum reopens its doors to teach Geology.