Ever since Goulandris Museum was founded, its main purpose has been and still is the research for collection, registration and study of the country’s botanic, animal, geological and paleontological wealth, and the evaluation of biotopes in cooperation with research centres, museums and universities of Greece and other countries.

The Museum’s research activity includes missions for collection of material, field studies, and workshops, publications etc. The findings of the Museum’s research are a condition for rational management of natural environment as well as a means for other scientific researches. The creation of GAIA Centre in 1999 marked a significant expansion of the Museum’s research interest in two new sectors, with the creation of fully equipped laboratories of Soil Ecology and Biotechnology and of Bioanalytical Chemistry.

Their purpose is to examine soil as a vital space, because its uninformed management has significant impacts on quality and by extension on foodstuff and humans.