The Primorsky Aquarium arranges a “monstrous” holiday for visitors
Sea Monsters Day has been celebrated at the Primorsky Aquarium for the third year in a row. Last Saturday the Aquarium visitors solved a “wandering” quest, took part in “secret” workshops, attended the lectures of the series “Hell is Empty”, had their faces uncannily painted, and the most vigorous participants learned lively Irish dancing.
The puzzling quest gave its small participants a chance to step into the shoes of shipwrecked sailors. Getting home was a difficult but exciting challenge. Children completed the learning stations with the help of local marine inhabitants - Salmon, Crab and Octopus. A piece of the map directing the way off the deserted island was given to the quest participants for each successfully accomplished task.
“Everything that I learnt today was interesting to me, especially the fact about a fish with a snake head. I did not know that the monster lived in lake Khanka,” recounted ten-year-old Liova. “And the swimming crab is not scary at all.”
Six-year-old Platon and Stepan with their father traveled through the learning stations too.
“We liked everything: we made origami fish and found out who was the main monster – it turned out to be the hellish vampire squid. But you should not be afraid of it as this creature lives at great depths”, said the twins.
On finishing the entertaining route, all the participants were presented with a commemorative trophy – a wooden badge of the Primorsky Aquarium.
The underwater world is full of secrets and inhabited by frightening creatures but monsters can also be imaginary - just like those that were made of paper by the workshop attendees.
A traditional series of popular science lectures was held to educate an adult audience. The title of the series – “Hell is Empty”- was borrowed from Shakespeare. The subjects of the lectures matched the general ambience of the environmental holiday and dealt, for example, with marine “evil spirits”, ancient super-predators and mythical beasts.
«Sea Monsters Day always falls on autumn school holidays that is why my family attended the event for the third year running”, said Dmitry Borodin, a resident of Nakhodka. “It is amazing that every time the holiday arrangers figure out something new.”