An interactive museum dedicated to the Sea of Cortez opened this week inside The Place at Cabo, a commercial complex in the Marina of Cabo San Lucas. Los Cabos Mayor Christian Agúndez Gómez and Baja California Sur Governor Víctor Castro Cosío cut the ribbon on the Museo Inmersivo Discovery Center, which features hands-on exhibits covering the natural history, biodiversity, and conservation of the body of water Jacques Cousteau once called “the world’s aquarium.”
The Los Cabos Discovery Center was developed by Grupo Questro, the hospitality and real estate company led by Eduardo Sánchez Navarro. Grupo Questro also operates several resorts and residential developments in the Los Cabos corridor, including Quivira Los Cabos, Copala, and the Pueblo Bonito hotel chain. The museum marks the company’s first venture into cultural attractions.
Sea of Cortez UNESCO Status and Grupo Questro’s First Museum
The Sea of Cortez, also known as the Gulf of California, earned UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 2005. The designation covers a chain of 244 islands, islets, and coastal areas across the gulf. UNESCO recognized the region as home to 891 fish species, roughly 90 of which are found nowhere else on Earth. The waters also host one-third of the world’s marine mammal species, including blue whales, humpback whales, and the critically endangered vaquita porpoise in the upper gulf near San Felipe.
The new museum focuses on this biodiversity through immersive exhibits. Based on the municipal government’s description, the center uses interactive technology to walk visitors through the geological formation of the gulf, its marine ecosystems, and current conservation challenges. The Sea of Cortez separates the Baja California peninsula from mainland Mexico, stretching roughly 1,100 kilometers from the Colorado River delta in the north to Cabo San Lucas at its southern mouth.
Los Cabos has long relied on outdoor attractions: sport fishing, snorkeling at Cabo Pulmo National Park, whale watching from December through April, and beach resorts along the Tourist Corridor. Yet the destination has had few indoor, year-round cultural options. The Wirikuta Desert Botanical Garden in San José del Cabo and the small glass-blowing factory near the highway have been among the limited alternatives on hot summer days or during the occasional chubasco storms that hit from August through October.
The Discovery Center fills a gap for families and visitors looking for activities beyond the pool and the panga. Its location inside The Place at Cabo, a mixed-use development on the marina boardwalk, puts it within walking distance of dozens of restaurants, shops, and the sportfishing docks.
Mayor Announces Historic Center Projects in Both Cabos Towns
At the ribbon-cutting, Agúndez also announced that the municipal government is developing tourism infrastructure projects in the historic centers of both San José del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas. He did not provide specific details, timelines, or budgets for these projects. But the announcement fits a pattern of municipal investment in walkable urban spaces that has accelerated over the past three years.
San José del Cabo’s Art District, centered on Álvaro Obregón street, already draws visitors to its Thursday evening gallery walks between November and June. The colonial-era town center features the 18th-century Misión San José del Cabo Anuití church and a renovated central plaza. Cabo San Lucas, by contrast, has a smaller and less developed historic core. Most tourist activity concentrates along the marina and Médano Beach rather than in the older neighborhoods around Boulevard Lázaro Cárdenas.
The mayor credited private investment as the engine of Los Cabos’ economic growth. That claim has data behind it: Los Cabos International Airport handled 8.4 million passengers in 2024, a record. Hotel occupancy rates in the municipality averaged above 75% for most of the year. The construction of new hotels, residential towers, and mixed-use projects along the Tourist Corridor has continued at a pace that strains water and electrical infrastructure.
OOMSAPAS, the Los Cabos municipal water utility, has struggled to keep up with demand from new developments. CFE, Mexico’s federal electric utility, approved a new substation for the corridor in 2024 to address recurring blackouts during peak summer months. Each new attraction adds pressure on these systems, even as it broadens the destination’s appeal.
The Discovery Center has not yet published official hours, ticket prices, or booking details on a public website. Visitors can expect to find more information at The Place at Cabo’s front desk or through Grupo Questro’s hospitality channels. The municipal government’s announcement of the historic center projects is expected to include specifics in the coming weeks, as reported by the Los Cabos municipal government press office.