The Senckenberg Natural History Museum Frankfurt opens the new theme room “Coral Reef” as part of the remodeling project New Museum
Coral reefs are, besides the tropical rainforests, the ecosystems with the greatest biodiversity and productivity worldwide. While they cover only about 0.2 percent of the ocean floor, they harbor a third of the marine fauna. The diversity of its fascinating, brilliantly colored organisms can be experienced in the new coral reef exhibition. In a 6 meters long and 2.50 meters high coral reef installation, visitors can discover more than 1,000 objects: from porcupinefish to dancing feather stars to a hunting school of whitetip reef sharks.
Over the course of three years, a team of three taxidermists were developing the diorama of an indo-pacific coral reef in close cooperation with Senckenberg scientists. With their work, they pursue two aims: a lifelike rendering of the diverse organisms, and the conveying of stories and interactions. The models show the reef dwellers in action – for example, a sea turtle in a cleaning station, or an octopus foraging for food. The reef can be experienced by day and by night. One section is also devoted to the existential threat posed to this precious ecosystem by climate change and other human influences.