GREECE'S TOP PHYSICIST
LAUDS CRETE AQUARIUM
       
  Professor D. Nanopoulos, Greece's top physicist and president of the National Congress for Research and Technology, while in Iraklion last month accepting a special award from the President of Democracy, took a side-trip to Gournes to view the CretAquarium. And, he liked what he saw. He gave it highest ratings in its scientific value, and "its contribution to the quality of the tourism product for all of Greece, as well as Crete.

While it's great to collect accolades from scientists, it's even better when a "public aquarium" receives praise from the public.

In the first six months of operations, the CretAquarium in Gournes has exceeded original expectations, according to an aquarium spokesperson. "Since we opened our doors in December, we have had an excellent response from the local residents, and the thousands of school children who have viewed our exhibits," said Thalia Polychronaki, of The Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, which operates the aquarium.

While the CretAquarium boasts of housing 4,000 marine organisms, it's the shark exhibit that gets the most attention, especially among the kids. "It looked just like the one that ate all the people in the movie!" an 11-year-old from Iraklion exclaimed, referring to the film, Jaws, which was made 20 years before he was even born. He was scary with all those big teeth, but I loved it," said a nine-year-old girl, who was at the aquarium on a class outing.

While not admitting to having a Great White quite that big, Thalia agreed that the shark tank is by far the most popular exhibit. "There's always a crowd around that exhibit – the people love to view the sharks. And, of course, recent films like A Sharks Tale and Finding Nemo have generated a great deal of interest among the kids." Thalia added that the jelly fish exhibit is also extremely popular with children and adults, alike. "We have many different varieties of jelly fish, and they make a colourful and interesting display," she said.

Friends Graham Briggs and John Taylor, both from New Castle, England, who were on holiday in Malia, liked the shark tank, but they felt the entire aquarium was an exciting exhibition. "We loved it!" Graham said. "It's bigger and better than the one we have in Tynemouth (Blue Reef Aquarium), just outside of New Castle." His mate agreed. "Very nice way to spend a morning on Crete," John added. "The only thing that bothered us was all the noisy kids in the cinema. But, we're happy the barmaid at the Sports Bar in Malia recommended it to us. You can always depend on barmaids for the best information!"

The CretAquarium is open everyday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is 8 Euros for adults, 6 Euros for children from 5 to 17 years old and free for children up to 4 years old. After 3 p.m., the admission price is 7 Euros. The local city busses from Iraklion have included a special stop directly at the aquarium doors – the number 9 stop – on two runs a day at the moment, but more will be added. Meanwhile, all other Iraklion buses will stop on the main road, about 150 meters from the building, if requested.