World’s First Semi-Submerged Museum Opens in the Maldives
This attraction has now closed.
It’s not quite Atlantis but a new submerged sculpture installation in the Maldives – the world’s first semi-submerged museum – will surely impress underwater explorers.
The collection of partially sunken artworks by artist and naturalist Jason deCaires Taylor, dubbed the Coralarium, is designed to encourage coral regeneration and preservation.
Housed in a six-metre-high stainless steel cube, the installation is a short swim through the intertidal lagoon off the shore of the Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Feshi resort, in the Shaviyani Atoll.
Snorkelers follow a 50-metre underwater pathway, lined with sculptures emulating plants native to the archipelago, including banyan trees and strangler figs, to a staircase that leads them into the cube.
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Eventually, the stainless steel and concrete will be colonised by coral and marine algae and provide shelter for marine life within the lagoon as the tides ebb and flow.
For now, only Sirru Fen Fushi guests can access the sculptures on guided tours with the resort’s resident marine biologist – so start planning your tropical getaway.
