What are microalgae and why should I give a care?

A long, long time ago,

the world was a desolate, horrifying, atmosphereless, caustic, chemical-soup-pot.* Then, 3.4 billion years ago, some wild microbial upstarts decided to start eating sunlight and farting oxygen. Eating and farting enough that they grew earth’s breathable atmosphere - a helpful thing for, like, most of the life on earth that we know and love. Including us.

Since then a few things happened. Plants, dinosaurs, Taylor Swift. But one thing never changed; microalgae kept doing their thing.

Giving us over half of earth's breathable air.

Feeding the oceans.

Making clouds. . .  and. . . mountains.

We’re talking about a biological force with planetary impact which we completely overlook because, well, they’re microscopic.

You can find microalgae in your food, your clothes, the fuel in your car, your cosmetics, even your toothpaste.

They’re wildly diverse in their biology, ecology, structures, and functions and they hold enormous promise in our collective shift from doing a crap job of running the planet to being more conscious and responsible about it.

And still, most people aren’t even aware that microalgae exist to begin with, let alone how awesome they are, but as soon as you really start to see them, the inspiration, curiosity, and wonder are guaran-gosh-darn-teed. Each one a tiny marvel - jewels of life!

The Museum of Microalgae (MoMa) exists to welcome one and all into this powerful, fascinating, and breathtakingly beautiful dimension that’s hidden all around us, and we’d love for you to be a part of it!

*Sorry Archaea, history is written by the winners