18/06/2021 | From 21.5.2021 to 10.7.2022 the Übersee-Museum Bremen shows an exhibition accompanying the 14th/15th International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) 2021/22. The ZMT lent one of its exhibits to the Übersee-Museum: a virtual coral reef that can be navigated with a controller to get information about the fauna in the coral reef and its endangerment.
Coral reefs are colourful and fascinating. They provide a home for numerous creatures in our oceans. They form - directly or indirectly - the economic livelihood of about 500 million people. But coral reefs are highly endangered. Worldwide, 30 percent of these marine ecosystems have already been destroyed. The exhibition "Coral Reefs - Diverse. Vulnerable. Lost?" was created to draw attention to their importance, the dangers they face, but also the possibilities for protection. The occasion is two international coral reef conferences, which will be organized by the University of Bremen in 2021 virtually and in 2022 as a presence event.
Significance, global and local threats and protection - this thematic triad is what visitors encounter on their tour of the exhibition. At various "exhibition stations" they learn not only why coral reefs are so valuable or what is endangering them, but also what efforts are being made around the world to save coral reefs and what they can do themselves.
Large-format photographs allow a comparison between healthy, bleached and dead coral reefs. The several-meter-long replica of a coral reef including its inhabitants, as well as the interactive virtual coral reef provided by the ZMT, allow unusual insights and perspectives. The models of a coral polyp and of a reef section from the Red Sea highlight even the smallest details, and impressive original exhibits supplemented by a film station complete the exhibition.