Underwater museum in Mexico

Every year hundreds of thousands of tourist divers visiting the luxury resort of Cancun on the Yucatan peninsula and the nearby island of Isla Mujeres contribute to the degradation of the coral reefs in the surrounding waters of the Caribbean Sea. In order to stop this process and to restore the reef, an original and unique project has been set up to open an underwater museum.

At a depth of 9m, at the bottom of a nature reserve that includes the coastal waters of Cancun, an exhibition has been created consisting of 400 sculptures, representing human figures. The artist responsible for creating this underwater exhibition is British sculptor Jason de Caires-Taylor.

-- Advertisement --

A ph-neutral composite was used to make the sculptures, which will allow corals to settle on them, thus creating an artificial reef. Jaime Gonzalez, the museum’s director, hopes that the new attraction will draw tourists’ attention away from the natural reef and stop its destruction.

The museum, which opened in November, is proving extremely popular with over 300,000 visitors to date. The idea seems to be an ideal solution to promote and develop the region in terms of tourism, while protecting the natural environment of the coastal waters.

Photo:Jason de Caires/BARCROFT MEDIA