January 29, 2007

AQUARIUM DONATES 2,500 BOOKS TO SCHOOLS AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES

Vancouver, BC:Earlier today, Vancouver Aquarium Chair Janet Landucci and Vice-President of Conservation, Research, and Education Eric Solomon presented McBride Annex school in East Vancouver with a copy of People, Fish and Whales, written by former Aquarium Director Dr. Murray Newman, with a section by current President Dr. John Nightingale. The school hosted the Aquarium’s AquaVan today and was very pleased to receive this book.

McBride Annex is the first school to receive this behind-the-scenes look at the Aquarium. Thanks to a generous donation by Jean Southam, the Aquarium will donate 2,200 copies of the book to every public elementary and secondary school in B.C., as well as 300 copies to all major public libraries in the province.

Educating children about the wonders of marine life is a key component of the Vancouver Aquarium’s mandate. The Aquarium educates over 80,000 students a year through programs such as the AquaVan, which travels all over B.C. and Alberta bringing creatures of the sea to children who often don’t have access to the ocean.