The Moskvarium Centre of Oceanography and Marine Biology at VDNH is joining the celebration of World Octopus Day on 8 October. Specially for the occasion, it has designed an event programme for children and adults. Between 8 and 10 October, Moskvarium’s guests will be able to join an informative lecture, creative workshops, fun quests, interactive games, a dance flash mob and a drawing contest.
On the actual Octopus Day, 8 October, Moskvarium’s ichthyology lectorium will host a free lecture Octopus: the Miracle of Nature at 12 p.m. At the lecture, you will be able to learn some fascinating facts about this unusual cephalopod mollusc: its unique anatomy, high intelligence, interaction with humans, and its ancestors, the ammonites, which lived on Earth more than 300 million years ago.
How many hearts does an octopus have? When does it change colour? What is its pupils’ shape? Why is its blood blue, and why does it release ink? Moskvarium’s experts will be happy to answer these questions and many others.
The theory will be followed up by practice: the attendees will join the centre’s ichthyologists and divers in preparing a festive dinner for Aristotle, the octopus living at Moskvarium. Aristotle will be treated to the finest seafood: squid, langoustines, crayfish, shrimp and fish.
Admission is free, with prior registration required by call centre phone: +7(499)677-99-99. Age restrictions: 5+.
Immediately after the lecture, the guests will be able to see the hero of the day get his snacks from a diver at the Aquarium exhibit. This will be followed up by a thematic tour with stops at the tanks, where you will be able to observe molluscs from different bodies of water from all over the world: gastropods from the White Sea, scallops from the Sea of Japan, mussels, and the creatures from tropical waters: the sea hare and the tridacna. The guides will even show you the unusual lamprologus fishes from Lake Tanganyika, which nest in empty gastropod shells.
Participation in the tour is free, but you need a ticket to access the Aquarium exhibit. You can sign up for the tour by calling +7(499)677-99-99.
Between 8 and 10 October, the youngest visitors of Moskvarium, aged five and over, will be able to take part in an entertainment programme: Little Octopus Looks for Friends. There will also be a special creative zone near the Sunken Forest aquarium (No. 38), opposite the workshop zone. Professional entertainers will invite the guests on fun-packed quests and interactive games, along with a dance flash mob and a drawing contest.
On Friday, 8 October, between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., Moskvarium’s young visitors will have a chance to attend free workshops in the creative zone, learning how to make toy octopuses out of paper and modelling clay. And between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m., they will enjoy an interactive game Little Octopus Looks for Friends, which will include a children’s drawing competition. The winners will get mugs with octopus pictures, as well as other mementos. From 1 to 1:30 p.m., the same zone will be used for a dance flash mob open to everyone over the age of three.
Over the weekend, on 9 and 10 October, the creative zone will run a free quest game four times a day: An Octopus Has Eight Limbs. Professional entertainers will help VDNH’s young guests befriend an octopus, learn fun facts about this species, solve sea-themed puzzles and take part in a variety of contests. The quests are scheduled for: 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., 1 to 2 p.m., 3 to 4 p.m. and 5 to 6 p.m. Please note that capacity is limited. To sign up for the quest, buy tickets to the Aquarium and call +7(499)677-99-99.
The full event schedule is available on Moskvarium’s website.
VDNH and the Moskvarium Centre of Oceanography and Marine Biology are complying with Rospotrebnadzor’s anti-Covid recommendations: all visitors must maintain social distance and wear masks when indoors.