Mexico isn’t the first place to come up with an underwater museum, but their reasoning for doing so is a rather noble one: they’re trying to protect the reefs that are being damaged by hurricanes and humans. The museum is set to be located in the Caribbean waters, off the Yucatan Peninsula in the state of Quintana Roo, in the area’s national park. The park’s director hopes that by luring tourists away from the reefs to the museums, the coral can regenerate, giving it a better chance to survive against hurricanes.
Sculptures in Grenada
The first four sculptures were scheduled to be submerged in the Caribbean waters yesterday, November 19th. These are the first of hundreds that will soon join them courtesy of artist Jason deCaires Taylor. The sculptures are designed to be durable and have no detrimental effect on the local ecosystem. They’re made of PH- neutral concrete, and hopefully, will attract algae and marine life and boost the ecosystem. Green algae is expected to start growing within two weeks and juvenile algae within a matter of months.
I’ve heard of underwater museums before but I’ve never really seen a visual of one until now. It looks really cool, actually, and I definitely want to put that on my to-do list. Especially one thats so well thought out and for a good cause. I love art, as many do, and it’s really clever of them to find a creative and interesting way to boost the ecosystem and distract attention away from coral reefs. Major kudos.
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Maryline, love this! I would love to check them out. But I bet there is a strong oppostition to these as well, as it is introducing foreign, non natural elements to the seabed.
Oh, absolutely! But it doesn’t seem to have been a problem before. I suppose only time will tell what the effects are. If it really does what it is intended to, then I could see this becoming a huge trend in the future. Underwater museums!!