UNDERWATER MUSEUMS

Imagine going to a museum where you have to use a boat or swim under the water with a snorkel to see the exhibits. This kind of museum is the creation of Jason deCaires Taylor, a British artist. So far, he has put over one thousand statues on sea floors in several locations around the world. The main goal of his museums is to help protect the underwater environment.(lines 1–8)
Taylor wants to make us aware of the damage that humans are causing to the underwater environment. There is a lot of garbage in the seas because people often use the oceans as a place where they get rid of garbage. We can't always see the damage because it is hidden under the water. But many animals and plants can no longer live in parts of the sea because of the garbage that people throw there. Taylor's museums are places where sea life returns.(lines 9–13)
Taylor makes sure that the underwater area is cleaned up before he creates a museum. One of his museums, for example, is near the town of Cannes in France. When he chose this place, he found that the bottom of the sea was full of parts from old boats and other kinds of garbage, instead of corals and sea life. Today all the garbage is gone. Snorkelers who swim among Taylor's statues will again find beautiful corals, sea plants and many types of fish.(lines 14–18)
In the Cannes museum there are six statues. Each statue is a huge head that weighs two tons and is two meters tall. Each statue shows the face of a person who lives in Cannes. For example, one is the face of a nine-year-old girl. The statues are in water that is only four meters deep. This makes it easy for people to reach them.(lines 19–22)
Taylor continues to create his unusual museums around the world. He believes that all museums are places where people learn important values. He hopes that visitors to his museums will learn to protect the underwater world.(lines 23–25)