Macduff Marine Aquarium

22 November 2011

Take A Closer Look At Macduff Marine Aquarium

A Sea Lab visitor with the new binocular microscopes

Children and adults alike can now get a closer look at the beautiful marine-life found in the Moray Firth - thanks to you, the players of People's Postcode Lottery.

The small-grant giving programme, People's Postcode Trust, is funded entirely by players. The Trust has awarded almost £2,000 to the Macduff Marine Aquarium. The essential funding has been used to enhance the already popular Sea Lab.

The Sea Lab is an interactive centre, which allows visitors to get a real hands-on experience of the seashore life with the aquarium's touch pools. The People's Postcode Trust funding has provided two new sets of binocular microscopes. One of these allows centre visitors to see the marine life projected on a plasma screen in high-definition.

Even the Firth's smallest inhabitants can be seen in detail. Fish in the kelp tank can also be filmed using an underwater camera, the affectionately named yellow submarine ‘Neptune’.

Speaking about the funding, Sandra Bisset, Aquarium Learning Officer at Macduff Marine Aqaurium says; “The funding was a fantastic boost and helped us to really enhance the Sea Lab. It’s one of the most popular parts of the aquarium, and the microscopes have made it even better. Getting to see the marine-life in such detail is a wonderful experience.”

The aquarium aims to provide education with entertainment.  It allows visitors of all ages, from pre-school children through to University students, to enjoy the centre and get a fantastic understanding of the wealth of marine-life on their doorstep. As part of Shark Week, visitors were able to examine dogfish shark teeth and skin, creating amazingly intricate images.

The aquarium is creating a real buzz in Aberdeenshire. Earlier this week (Monday 14 November), Rip, the Macduff Marine Aquarium’s conger eel, created a paparazzi sensation. He was released into the wild to breed. It is hoped that Rip will head to the deep water of the Azores to spawn.

To date, People's Postcode Trust has supported 22 projects and awarded over £70,000 in the Aberdeen area.

The funding application round is still open in Scotland for projects under £2,000. For more information, please visit the People's Postcode Trust website to find out how to apply and for application outlines.