The Museum of Cozumel
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The Museum of Cozumel |
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Cozumel’s past is a rich history of important events due to its geographical location within the Caribbean sea and its island character, which turned out to be a strategic place through the centuries.
The Museum of the Island of Cozumel was established to offer island residents and visitors a better understanding of the geography, geology, history, and natural growth of this remarkable place. The museum was conceived as a showplace to preserve the cultural legacy of its inhabitants.
The new museographics techniques used for the exhibits provide the visitor a different way to experience the past and present of Cozumel’s island environment. The museum describes the natural terrestrial and submarine environments of the island and presents a panorama of its flora and fauna. The museum also recounts historical events, starting with the pre-Hispanic epoch when Cozumel was a shrine visited by pilgrims who traveled here to venerate Ix-Chel, the Maya goddess of love, fertility, weaving, and the moon. It also features exhibits displaying pre-Hispanic and colonial lifestyles, contemporary history, the pirates from the 17th and 18th centuries, and the future of the island itself. Exhibits describes the arrival of Juan de Grijalva and Hernan Cortez in the sixteenth century, the harassment of Spanish ships by pirates and freebooters during the colonial period, and many other incidents from the island’s past.
In addition to the permanent re-creations, the museum has temporary expositions of art, science, and technology, and hosts social and cultural conferences. Look at the entrance bulletin board to see a schedule of the weekly events.
Sea turtles are protected by law yet are quickly deminishing in number. Each year, fewer eggs are layed and fewer turtles are hatched. Anything that we can do to help them will be greatly appreciated by our future generations. Expeditions are seasonally organized to the windward side of the island to observe turtles laying their eggs. We see less and less of this since the flashlights, noise, and commotion tend to discourage the turtles. These disturbances also cause great concern about their reproductivity, since turtles may leave without laying their eggs, or even die.
Sea turtles have webbed feet so they can swim in the waves. In normal conditions, the turtle eggs all hatch at the same time, then wait until dark to make their quick journey as safely and quickly as possible. There are many dangers such as crabs, vultures, sea gulls, iguanas, and man through their journey. Then, they have to survive in the wild oceans for a long time. Turtles usually don’t begin laying fertile eggs until they are 30-50 years old. They usually lay about 250 or 300 eggs at a time.
In addition to exhibits, the museum offers to the public a restaurant, book store, gift shop, library, an auditorium for conferences and for the presentation of audiovisuals or movies, and workshops for teaching arts and crafts.
This is a great way of orienting yourself and getting a feel for the history of the island and surrounding area. Make a visit early in your stay to get ideas about things you might want to see more of and learn more about. Every Sunday night, there is a fiesta (party) on the square complete with a little live music group. The city comes alive with all the local Mexican families. The children play freely in the park, running, riding bikes or skates. Everyone dances to the music as they show off their Sunday clothes. Photographers enjoy the candid displays of glee and good will in the faces of all the participants. Festivities begin about 8:30 ending around 10:00 P.M.
