Cancún Underwater Museum

Cancún Underwater Museum (MUSA) is a non-profit organization in Cancún, Mexico, dedicated to marine conservation through underwater art. It features over 500 sculptures by international and local artists, submerged between three and six meters deep in the ocean at the Cancún National Marine Park.

Planning your visit

MUSA operates as a non-profit with a conservation purpose rather than an art project that happens to be underwater. The Cancún National Marine Park sits within the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the second-largest reef system in the world, and it was suffering badly from the sheer volume of divers and snorkellers visiting from Cancún and Isla Mujeres. The museum was conceived in 2009 as a decoy: build an artificial site compelling enough to draw that traffic away from the fragile natural reef, and make it from materials that actively help coral regenerate.

Over 500 sculptures by international and local artists now sit between three and six metres down, cast in pH-neutral marine-grade concrete with textured surfaces that coral larvae can grip. The work is designed to be consumed by the sea — figures that began as sharp-featured casts of real people are now furred with algae, encrusted with sponge and slowly disappearing under coral growth. That transformation is the intended artwork rather than deterioration.

The shallow depth means snorkellers see a great deal, though divers get closer to the largest installation at Manchones Reef.

Bookable options include beginner scuba experiences with instruction included, certified reef dives combining the sculptures with natural reef, and snorkelling trips. Conditions govern visibility, so flexible dates help. Current departures are listed below.