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The worlds's largest aquarium was in Sydenham - part of
the Crystal Palace. The Aquarium was built after the first major fire at
Crystal Palace in 1866 left a devasted area by the North Tower. It was opened
in 1871 and salt water was brought all the way from Brighton by train. Tastes
change and by the 1890s it had been transformed into menagerie of monkeys who
occupied the empty fish tanks. The Aquarium survived the 1936 fire but was
destroyed when the North Tower was demolished in 1941.
Now what will probably be world's finest free aquarium
will open in spring 2006 only a mile or so to the north at the Horniman Museum.
Plans got an ernormous boost with a £1.1m pledge to the Museum from
ReDiscover. There is still £400,000 to be raised to complete the
£1.5m project but Horniman Trustee chairman Timothy Hornsby believes this
will be a great encouragement for more sponsors to come forward.
The new aquarium will be a major educational resource
for South East London with free entry to all. We will be able to explore the
diverse nature of ecosystems from around the world highlighting the
conservation issues facing these fragile but important environments. This will
include a variety of endangered aquatic ecosystems such as British ponds and
rockpools, Fijian Corals Reefs and a breathtaking South American
Rainforest.
Other fascinating displays will include British
Seahorses, salt water Jellyfish, tropical Monkey Frogs and four-eyed fish
interspersed with a state-of-the-art interactive camera and tank-viewing dens
complete with smells and sounds.
Director of the Horniman Museum, Janet Vitmayer,
expressed her delight at the news: "For more than a hundred years, the Horniman
has been renowned as home to one of the first public aquariums in the capital
and, thanks to the generosity of the National Lottery and other charitable
organisations, I am thrilled to announce that we are now well on our way to
building an exciting new world class aquarium for the twenty first century in
South London."
The £34m ReDiscover fund supports institutions
which promote public understanding of science by helping UK science centres and
museums to renew, refresh or redevelop their exhibitions.
But hurry... visitors have until
Monday 2 May to enjoy the existing Horniman Aquarium before reopens to the
public in Spring 2006.
Excavation of
the old Crystal Palace Aquarium
<see here for more>
Sydenham Town 27/04/05 |
