Hello everybody,
Where do they hide the Dinosaurs in
Cyprus? Did anybody see them? I was lucky, because I had the chance
to meet Mr. Angelos Tsirides and he told me the secret to be told to
all the children in Cyprus. Dear kids, all the Dinosaurs in Cyprus
are in Tsirides Foundation in Nicosia. The most fascinating world,
the world of natural history is waiting all the children to be
discovered, appreciated as this is a place which gives life to
passion.
Mr. Angelos Tsirides passion is to find
and to collect and fossils, minerals, meteorites and antiquities and
it's accomplishment will be to open the First Museum of World Natural
History here in Cyprus.
Izzy: Dear Mr. Angelos thank you very
much for this opportunity you offered to all the children to discover
a little bit of the world natural history in Nicosia. What can you
tell us about you and how did this passion developed?
Angelos Tsirides:
To
start with, this is a hobby that started long time ago. By profession
I am Civil Engineer and I am the Managing Director of Tsircon
Company, which is a trading and manufacturing company of building
materials.
My
interest in fossils started when for the first time I was told that
animals existed millions of years before the humans.
I
was interested to find out about the creation of life since the age
of 14 so this inspired me to search further to find out how
everything was created. This passion drove me to become a collector.
Izzy: I know you have three big
children. Did they inspire you in the choices that you made in your
life and in the decision to open the Tsirides Fondation and how?
A.T.: The
greatest inspiration come to me from my second daughter when she was
about 12 years old and asked me who and what is god. Of course
studying the evolution through fossils along with other experiences
in my life, I tried to answer her question. My answer was a surprise
to me as it was for everybody else. This answer is in the book I
wrote later “Light on the Unexplained”.
Establishing the
Tsirides Foundation was the will of all my daughters and we all
mutually agreed that this collection should be shared with everybody
and not only the family.
Izzy: What the Tsirides Foundation has
to offer to the little guests and how it can open their appetite to
learn about the fascinating world of natural history? What is the
most important piece of the museum?
A.T.: The
Tsirides Foundation offers knowledge and through knowledge characters
are developed. For example when they look at an animal million years
old and they are told that that through evolution it led gradually to
the human race, they learn to respect more the animals since, in a
way, they are our ancestors. Also they learn to respect one another
since we are all relatives coming from the same origin.
Further
to this, they will be fascinated with animals like the dinosaurs,
early birds and other varieties which now do not exist. They will
also witness the amazing beauty and colors of minerals, most of which
they may not see anywhere else.
There
are many important exhibits in the Museum but children are fascinated
with two complete Dinosaurs, the skull of a very big one and a nest
with dinosaur eggs.
Izzy: Dinosaurs are the most intriguing
animals that they ever exist it on our planet. Children love
dinosaurs. Tsirides Fondation is the only one in Cyprus that is able
to introduce this world to the kids. What you can tell us about this
extraordinary opportunity and also about your annually event
concerning Dinosaurs?
A.T.: It
is really a great opportunity not only for the children but also for
the adults to see real dinosaurs. As you may know, in most Museums
they usually exhibit copies. In our Museum all the exhibits are
original fossils.
Once
a year, on the second Sunday of October, we organize a big event at
Tsircon premises, next to Leroy Merlin, where we display the very big
fossils and minerals of our collection which cannot be displayed in
our Museum because of their big sizes. For this year, the event will
take place on the 12th of October from 9:00am to 6:00pm.
Among the exhibits that the visitor can see, will be the skull of
Tyrannosaurus Rex, the skeleton of a Pigmy Hippopotamus from Cyprus,
a flying bird (Pterosaur) of 6m wing span with a fish in its throat.
Also there will be one huge Glyptodon which is very impressive and
other fascinating fossils and minerals.
We
will also have games for children like Treasure Hunting, decorating
dinosaur cookies, making dinosaur footprints and others related to
the same subject.
Parents
and children will also have the opportunity to find their own fish
fossil by splitting stones containing fossils and discover the hidden
beauty of geode agates by cracking them.
The
entrance is free and there will be a bazaar for those that would like
to buy real fossils & minerals.
Izzy: At Tsirides Foundation we will be
able to see also meteorites. What makes them special and which one is
the most attractive and of course … is there any story behind it?
A.T.: Meteorites
are objects that have traveled in space and have fallen on the earth.
We have meteorites that have fallen on different parts of the world
but the most important is a small piece of meteorite from Mars. The
amazing thing is that it has fallen in 2011 in Morocco and this rain
of meteorites has been witnessed by people. Another important
Meteorite is a big one 26 kg weight that has fallen in Namibia.
Izzy:What educational programs and
activities can be enjoyed by the children who choose to visit the
Museum?
A.T.: There is a
guided tour and children will get a “Certificate” for attending
this tour.
Izzy: Is there any shop at the museum
and what can be found inside to entertain the little minds?
A.T.: At this
Museum you can buy some books, but we have a big shop not so far from
the Museum at Stavrou Avenue no. 96H where they can buy fossils,
minerals, meteorites and many other educational items such as
excavating kits with real fossils, shark teeth collection boxes,
fossil collection bags, etc. They can also admire the skeleton of a
huge cave bear from the Ice Age that belongs to the Tsirides
Foundation.
Similar items can
be found on the 1st floor at My Mall in Limassol and the
1st floor at King’s Avenue Mall in Paphos.
Izzy: Thank you very much for this
opportunity and I hope that interested people that would like to
visit your museum will take some time before visiting it to read the
information on this article and even better to read also every
information on Tsirides website. They should take time and introduce
the museum to their kids before visiting. This will raise their
interested in each piece and make them more concentrated and more
willing to get involved in this wonderful visit. Before we conclude
as is the tradition of our website I would appreciate to share whit
us a story or a piece of experience from your life for our kids and
parents.
A.T.: I am an
animal lover and I keep around 40 cats in the garden of our premises.
Sometimes pregnant cats choose to give birth inside the building. One
of them chose to give birth inside my office. So when the kiddies
started moving around in my office, I witness a very interesting
experience. The mother of the kiddies was in the kitchen with my
wife, which is on the ground floor about 60 m away
from my office, which is on the first
floor. My wife, as she used to do before the cat gave birth, prepared
a small ball with aluminum foil and threw it in front of her with the
intention that she will play as she used to do. To our astonishment,
she picked up the ball with her mouth and walked all the way to the
stairs, climbed the staircase and went to my office and when the
kiddies surrounded her, she dropped the ball in front of them. When
they started playing she jointed up with them. For me, this surpasses
most of human behavior and I learned to respect even more the
feelings of animals.
Lots of sunny days from Izzy the
Cypriot Lizard!
Tsirides Foundation
Opening hours:
Tuesday –
Friday: 10:00am – 1:00pm & 2:30pm - 4:30pm
Saturday –
Sunday: 10:00am – 4:30pm
Address:
120A+B Strovolos Avenue, Nicosia, Cyprus
Entry fee:
€2 for children & €5 for adults
Contact
person: Mrs. Loulla Roubina
Phone no:
00 357 22312676
Webpage:
www.tsiridesfoundation.com
Facebook:
Τσιρίδειον ‘Ιδρυμα
E-mail:
info@tsiridesfoundation.com
Part of the pictures used in this article were made by The English Nursery School in Nicosia.