The central hall of the museum, the ex-church of Santa Maria, is a multipurpose room that can be used for conferences, art exhibitions, drawings, sculptures, and concerts. Visitors appreciate science through art.
The sperm whale Siso hangs in the place where the altar of the first cathedral of Milazzo once stood.
In this large space, that resembles a submarine, visitors dive into a fantastic world. Panels illustrate the history of the bastion of Santa Marina (the site of the museum) and visitors appreciate the beauty of the natural world and its habitants. Interactive touch screens have videos that explain not only the story of Siso but also the life of sperm whales and other marine life.
Leaving the central hall, the museum route takes visitors on a personal growth journey: like Dante, the path starts with hell. Visitors go down and find themselves immersed in the destruction that humans have caused to nature: sea turtles killed by fishing lines or caught in nets.
After hell visitors must pass through purgatory to reach heaven. Purgatory is a room to learn about nature and interact with others: there is a reading area with a library, with numerous books regarding the sea, for many different reading levels, and educational videos. Visitors gain awareness on the production of plastic, the anthropogenic impacts and results (plastic removed in beach clean-ups organized by type and color with information on the life cycle of plastic in nature). Visitors leave purgatory conscious of the actual situation and with a new way of thinking, acting and respecting the environment.
In heaven, visitors gain hope for the future, and the knowledge that we can only protect the things that we understand, appreciate and love.
MuMa hosts: conferences (scientific and other genera), exhibits (photographs, paintings, sculptures), concerts, recitals, etc, and any cultural activities related to the ideals of the museum.
It is a museum for all ages, 0 to 100 years old, and for everyone including those with disabilities.
MuMa is a Plastic Free museum, all the informational panels are made in cardboard or aluminum.