The aims of this Sea Life Museum is to show visitors the different ecosystems that make up the Alboran Sea (one of the most biodiverse areas in the Mediterranean), to draw attention to the fragility of the latter and on the importance of conservation, and to highlight the cultural and historical relations linking the Mediterranean peoples, especially between Spain and Africa.
The Aula del Mar, which annually receives about 20,000 visits from school, travelers and visitors to the city of Malaga, includes a museum, an aquarium and an information Center of Ecotourism Activities within the same exhibition space. This Center aims at raising awareness of the biodiversity of the Andalusian coast and promoting responsible tourism that contributes to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage. This Center will provide an update on the natural and cultural values of the nearly 1,000 miles of Atlantic and Mediterranean coast of Andalusia and on their restoration, accommodation and leisure infrastrcutres. The Center will serve to show the range of recreational activities involving greater awareness and experience with the Mediterranean coast, such as coastal boat itineraries, routes for hiking or cycling, diving, canoeing, bird and whale watching, or visits to unique coastal landscapes and historic sites as deposits Phoenicians, Romans and Arabs or medieval watchtowers.
The new Museum inherits great part of the content of the the Aula del Mar Museum such as aquariums and related facilities about marine animals of over 1,000 species (turtle shells, shells, bone structures, etc..), for vertebrates (fish, turtles and cetaceans) and invertebrates, as well as sharks and rays, not to mention the marine related world (nautical, fisheries, marine archeology, aquaculture, etc.).