Exploration has always been a method for popularising the desire to study nature and history. The scientific purpose of exploration is part and parcel of the yearning for knowledge regarding Catalonia. The articles of association of the first exploration society, which was founded in Spain in 1876, lay testimony to this fact:
"The Catalan Association for Scientific Exploration, with its headquarters in Barcelona, strives to explore the territory of Catalonia in order to gain an acquaintance of, to study and to preserve all the wonders of nature, history, art and literature in all manifestations, in addition to typical customs and popular traditions. It likewise seeks to spread this knowledge and to foster excursions across Catalonia to enable people to get to know it in-depth and to cherish it".
The exploration movement in Catalonia is part of a trend that began in England in 1857 and which became widespread all over the globe thereafter. Nowadays, it is recreational and sporting in nature, but the activities of its members still bear the hallmarks of its scientific and cultural tradition.