EXPLORING PLAYA DEL CARMEN
All photos by Andrea Ruiz Perron of BuyPlaya Real Estate Advisors
Playa del Carmen’s cultural scene has been growing by leaps and bounds in the past few years, with a new city theater, plenty of free family activities, and non-stop community events. Just a few months ago, Playa del Carmen welcomed yet another beautifully designed space for culture and education: Sayab Planetarium.
The name Sayab comes from the Mayan word that means “endless vein of water”. The new planetarium is a scientific, technological and cultural center whose mission is “the social appropriation of knowledge through science”. The fascinating and colorful exhibits at Sayab are focused around four main principals: underground water, biodiversity, culture and space.
First, they have two workshop areas designed especially for kids (but grown-ups can enjoy them, too!) with workshops entitled Fun Science, Through Mirrors, Newton’s Disco, Fossils, Plastiball, Spiders, Non-Newtonian Fluids, The Microscopic World and Microscopic Bugs, along with 15 touchscreens with interactive games.
You can even experience virtual reality on your visits to Playa del Carmen’s planetarium! The virtual reality experience features adventures ranging from a roller coaster ride to a trip to Mars.
The museology area is dedicated to our region: the Yucatan Peninsula. Learn all about the caves, biodiversity and history of this stunning and mysterious part of the world.
Of course, no planetarium would be complete without a way to peer into outer space. Sayab Planetarium’s observatory features two impressive telescopes for gazing at the sun and other stars.
Outside the building is a beautiful jungle area with a learning path called “Sacbé” (which means “white path” in the Mayan language), an idyllic place to experience the plants and trees of Quintana Roo while learning about the state’s amazing wildlife.
The planetarium also has an immersion dome with several captivating films: Flight Adventures, Two Pieces of Glass, Invaders from Mars, Lamps of Atlantis, The Secret Life of Stars, and Mayan Skies.
The auditorium seats up to 190 people, and features showcase conferences every Saturday.
Sayab also features a water museum, and soon they’ll be opening a museology room. They also host a variety of community events like a bike-a-thon, chess tournaments and more.
Sayab Planetarium is part of Quintana Roo’s state planetarium network, which also includes Yok’ol Kaab Planetarium in Chetumal, Ka’Yok’ Planetarium in Cancun, and Cha’an Ka’an Planetarium on the island of Cozumel, as well as two mobile units that make visits to smaller communities within the state of Quintana Roo.
We’re proud to say that we at BuyPlaya Real Estate Advisors even made our own donation to support the new Sayab Planetarium! Here is Cristobal Carrión, Chief of Workshops and Museology, with our very own BuyPlaya plaque at the planetarium. We’re happy to support Playa culture!
Sayab Planetarium is open from 11am to 7pm, and closes on Mondays. It’s located just behind Plaza Las Americas, on Avenida Paseo Central between Avenida Kantenah (11 Av North) and 125.
At this time, all exhibits and most shows are in Spanish, but Sayab is able to provide English-language guides on request.
To find out about upcoming shows and exhibits at the new planetarium (and to learn some cool science stuff), click here to follow Sayab Planetarium on Facebook.