After getting up close and personal with hermit crabs, sea urchins and the like, the children were shown how to use the stereomicroscopes and were able to practise on all sorts of dead insect specimens. Then there were live corals, crustaceans, bristle worms, brittle stars, various algae and other small marine creatures to examine up close under the microscope!

For most of the children it was the first time they had ever looked through a microscope to see small creatures magnified 10, 20, 30 or even 40 times… Wow! A little snail becomes a huge monster – with two stalked eyes and a long snout! Six 30-minute microscopy sessions took place between 11am and 2pm, with a total of 27 children aged between 4 and 11 taking part. At the end of the day, each child received an ocean postcard with a little pygmy seahorse. The Info Day attracted many visitors, aquarium and terrarium enthusiasts and lots of children to a varied programme of activities including a cockroach race, photography workshop, aquascaping, children’s workshop, jungle test and tombola. There was a bouncy castle outside and inside two giant African spur-thighed tortoises, the third largest tortoise species, which can weigh up to 100kg. The day was once again a great success, a big thank you to Harry and Tina and all the team at The Aquarium!