Mexican government have come up with a brilliant idea to attract more tourists and to stop coral reefs from being destroyed around Cancun by building the world’s largest underwater museum and display it with art work.
According to source there’s little environmental risk to the area as the concrete will be PH-neutral. Exactly the opposite in fact: the new rocks will allow algae and small invertebrates to flourish, adding rather than subtracting from the local ecosystem.
Their government decided to place as many as 400 works for viewing, phase by phase until 2011. The project are supervised by Jason de Caires Taylor, who is famous for his underwater art work, which is a great way to preserve our environment and for tourism. You can view his other works on his webpage, including some awesome photos of underwater sculptures in the West Indies.
British artist Jason de Caires Taylor poses together with of his life-size artwork in Cancun.
Click webpage to view more photos
[Photo: Jason de Caires Taylor]
Mexico Underwater Museum
The Mexican government has a creative new idea for getting tourists to stop overwhelming and destroying the coral reefs around Cancun: distract them with something shiny. So they’re building the world’s largest underwater museum and filling it with art work, hoping that the new attraction will take some pressure off the regional ecosystem.
There’s little environmental risk to the area as the concrete will be PH-neutral. Exactly the opposite in fact: the new rocks will allow algae and small invertebrates to flourish, adding rather than subtracting from the local ecosystem. The construction of the museum itself will probably take a bite out of the local environment, but we assume it’ll be done in a minimalist way. Can you imagine the headache if it came out that their Green Tourism museum was, well, not?
The first four sculptures will be submerged next month and the government eventually expects to place as many as 400 works for viewing. The project will be supervised by Jason de Caires Taylor, who is famous for his underwater art work, which we didn’t really know was a Thing. You can view his other works on his webpage, including some mind-blowing pictures of underwater sculptures in the West Indies.
[Photo: Jason de Caires Taylor]
Source:http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/6/154255/227/travel/Mexico+Opening+Underwater+Museum+To+Protect+Coral+Reefs