Scuba divers, look out: You may encounter a few more humans below the surface soon.
Museo Atlántico, Europe’s first underwater museum, opened this week off the coast of Lanzarote, Canary Islands. The museum’s submerged sculptures will serve as an artificial reef for fish and other sea life, giving a break to heavily trafficked natural reefs and helping replenish an ecosystem that’s been worked over by erosion.
About $9 for snorkelers and $13 for divers (not including gear) gets you an hour with the sculptures, which convey urgent messages about the state of our oceans:
Museo Atlántico is the brainchild of Jason deCairnes Taylor, a sculptor whose work also appears off the coasts of Mexico and the Bahamas.
His new, nearly 27,000-square-foot wonderland is meant to be toured in order, like a real museum. By the end, swimmers should have a renewed sense of urgency around protecting our oceans, especially after witnessing the 98-foot-long, 1,102-ton wall called “Crossing the Rubicon.”
“In times of increasing patriotism and protectionism, the wall aims to remind us that we cannot segregate our oceans, air, climate or wildlife as we do our land and possessions,” deCairnes Taylor said in a press release. “The work aims to mark 2017 as a pivotal moment, a line in the sand and reminder that our world’s oceans and climate are changing and we need to take urgent action before its too late.”
We couldn’t agree more.