HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa Visits Monaco’s Oceanographic Museum
Monaco – HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa, President of the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection and patron of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (Ocean Decade), visited on Wednesday Monaco’s Oceanographic Museum.
As part of her participation in the third Foundations Dialogue for the Ocean Decade, which began earlier that day in the Principality, HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa paid the visit.
HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa was welcomed by Robert Calcagno, Director General of the Oceanographic Institute, Foundation Albert I, Prince of Monaco, upon her arrival at the renowned Museum. Their conversation focused mostly on the Institute’s Mediterranean project.
During the meeting, Calcagno gave HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa an overview of the history and goals of this famous museum, which receives 600,000 visitors annually, as well as the initiatives taken by the Oceanographic Institute to safeguard the oceans, seas, and marine life.
Calcagno praised HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa and Her Foundation for their dedication to both Africa and Morocco.
Then, Her Royal Highness went to the Museum’s Salon d’Honneur, where she viewed the first section of the “Mission Polaire” exhibition, which features the men and women who explored the poles, as well as a presentation on Prince Albert I of Monaco and exchanges between the Principality and Morocco since Prince Albert I.
Before going on to the wings showcasing Mediterranean and tropical species, HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa learned about numerous critically endangered species while touring the aquariums in the lagoon, one of the museum’s largest aquariums.
Before visiting the “Monaco and the Ocean” area, where HRH learned about the environmental protection and preservation actions taken since Prince Albert I’s exploration and study of the oceans, through to the missions carried out within the framework of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the Chief Aquarist of the Museum presented to Her Royal Highness to the various missions of this area (hospital, nursery, coral farm, and species transfers) in the Museum’s reserves.
The visit of Her Royal Highness concluded with a stop at Oceanomania, the largest collection of marine artifacts in existence, and an immersion at both poles.
Prince Albert I erected the Oceanographic Museum into the side of Monaco’s legendary cliff. The Museum shows approximately 6,000 specimens with its renowned knowledge.
Everything in the Museum’s architecture symbolizes the maritime environment, from the ornamentation of the facades to that of the rooms. Since its opening on March 29, 1910, this Temple of the Sea, which has 6500 m2 of public space, has become recognized as a global leader in ocean conservation, education, and love.