Fishy Business at Proposed Krakow Aquarium
Few people know that ul. Sw. Sebastiana 9 is the site of the former Museum of Natural History in Krakow, and even fewer people know of the grand plans for the transformation of the building into a state of the art aquarium for the people of Krakow. Unfortunately, those plans seem to be unraveling before the eyes of the man responsible for building Krakow’s first proper aquarium.
Nathan Gendreau, owner of the Nathan’s Hostel chain, is the sole investor behind this project, which was begun almost exactly a year ago. In August 2007, Gendreau was informed of the closing of the Museum of Natural History due to lack of funds. Within the museum, a private company had rented a space and built a small oceanarium, but would not renew their contract. With this information, Gendreau met with a professor from the Polish Academy of Sciences who worked at the museum, as well as the director of the institute, to show his proposal for a state of the art aquarium, which would be primarily directed at the children of Krakow. Both men expressed great interest and enthusiasm for the project and gave their support.
With the help of a group of students, graduates and scientific and engineering professionals, Gendreau began work on the aquarium, which would include brand-new and completely safe cement and acrylic aquariums, handicap access throughout the entire building, touch screen “info points”, 42-inch HD displays for information, and several hands-on exhibitions for children, including a “Discovery Room”.
Unfortunately, after so much money had been invested and the aquarium was to be ready to begin operations in the summer of 2008, the project has come to a grinding halt just weeks short of completion. A new director began creating problems for the project in the spring, but matters escalated in the summer, when the institute submitted a letter to the conservators’ office saying that they never agreed to anything regarding the project. Such communications continued, as the institute’s director and the professor in charge of the museum did everything in their power to block the completion of the project – and seem to be succeeding at the moment. However, the only people they’re really hurting are the future generations of Cracovian youth, who will lose this chance to have a facility dedicated to getting them excited about science and oceanography.
Today, Nathan Gendreau issued a statement about his aim in spreading the story of the Krakow Aquarium: “…I have written this letter in the hopes of gaining support from the people of Poland; this building is owned by a public company, the Polish Academy of Sciences. Together we can tell them that we will not let a corrupt director whose only concern is his personal gain by misusing his position out of jealousy and envy of what the project has to offer. The old professors, instead of being afraid on new ideas should embrace them. These men who I mentioned in this letter are also the men that are teaching the next generation Poles and in the future my children.”
For more information or to lend your support, email info@aquariumkrakow.pl