The Icelandic Seal Centre

The Bobby Fischer Center

The Icelandic Seal Centre was created to promote seal research and sustainable seal-watching along the

Vatnsnes peninsula. While the centre has a serious research component to the facility, the museum section perfectly captures these lovable, adorable creatures. The main varieties of seals that the

Centre works with are harbour, harp, bearded, gray, hooded, and ringed seals. (There’s also the odd walrus that comes ashore in Iceland from Greenland. The Seal

Centre is contacted in that event.) The staff has information on the best sites for sealwatching opportunities and a small shop (hours variable; check website) sells souvenirs and light meals. For independent travellers, it is possible to go to the popular seal-watching spots without a tour guide. The museum is an entertaining, informative and fun experience for both adults and kids. Some of the exhibitions are geared toward children, with topics that include the seals of the North Atlantic and the Arctic, the importance of seals in Icelandic culture and tradition, seal biology (with skeletons on display), and the evolution of seal hunting on the island. There are also documentaries on Icelandic seals in English.