The rich species diversity and fascination of a tropical coral reef is on display in the permanent exhibition “Coral Reef” at the Senckenberg Natural History Museum in Frankfurt. Here, visitors can “immerse” themselves in the reef habitat and experience this ecosystem in various ways in the exhibition space. Newly added is the temporary exhibition expansion “Meet the Reef!”: different perspectives from society, art, and science explore the value of coral reefs, their protection, and the threats they face.
Working together with the Senckenberg Youth Council, artists, and scientists, “Meet the Reef!” develops richly faceted, new, and unknown perspectives on the ecosystem of the coral reef. Pivotal to this approach of co-creation is the “Transformer”, a display module by the artist Markus Zimmermann that enables the museum team to respond quickly and creatively to questions concerning reefs. In the coming months visitors will be able to explore for themselves what this transformable module looks like, how it changes and evolves; the exhibition project runs until July 2024 and is part of the “Temporary Permanence” research project run by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).