The new exhibition “Gas and oil: energy from fossils” has been devised with the aim of raising awareness about gas and oil, from the way they come into being to their great array of uses, in a way that makes their origins, production and applications understandable. The exhibition analyses the uses of these fossil sources of energy and surveys the large number of industries that depend on them. We must fully understand these highly-valued materials, and the way to use them, if we are to manage our resources on the basis of sound criteria.

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The exhibition “Gas and oil: energy from fossils” covers an area of 600 square metres and employs museological resources focussed on the daily, practical applications of these different energy sources, above all with respect to the relationship between the use of one particular energy resource and its environmental and social impact. In order to achieve this the exhibition contains real objects, interactive models, explanatory panels and “hands on” mechanical devices to aid comprehension of the concepts under analysis.

In order to make the exhibition suitable for all kinds of visitors very great care has been taken with the way the information and objects are presented as well as with the interactive elements. The texts are presented on three reading levels and are complemented by the different uses of museological resources. Given that it forms part of the exhibition 'Enérgeia', it follows the same conceptual design criteria used throughout the rest of the space. But at the same time this new section aspires to a character of its own, in view of the technical and social importance of the topic. The graphic design, together with some particularly relevant objects, is the real protagonist of the exhibition and an effort has been made to prevent the exhibition from being merely a display of equipment distributed, according to its evolution and development, throughout the exhibition space. Finally, the use of interactive modules provides a museological resource that can make the workings of a mechanism easier to understand and stimulate the links between concepts.

The exhibition has different guiding themes designed for various kinds of visitor. There is an introductory area, after which the rest of the exhibition is divided into specific topics such as town gas, an interactive area in which the workings and evolution of the internal combustion engine are explained, a space devoted to the origins and formation of oil and natural gas (as well as a space devoted exclusively to oil dealing with the refining process and the industries that depend on it, such as the petrochemical industries), a space devoted to the new uses for natural gas and finally an area that considers the issue of fossil fuels and the environment.

The issue of fossil fuels is of great importance, particularly at the present time, and with this new exhibition the Museum hopes to achieve its deeply desired aim of making their evolution and current position more understandable.