The grand aquarium

The grand aquarium is over the river, in St Malo.  It was open on a Sunday, and there was a Burger King just up the road, so after a lazy morning we drove off for an early lunch, then on to the aquarium.

We were encouraged to buy tickets online, for a reserved time slot to enter, so we did, before we set off.  The process was complicated, prone to error, and took 3/4 of an hour.   However, once we got to the place, we walked straight in.  There were few other visitors since it was still lunchtime.

There is a ride you can go on, that simulates a deep sea diving adventure, that is well put together.   There are so many warning signs you'd think you were in America.

It's fair to say that the experience is aimed pretty much at kids.   Although the tanks were well-lit, and the fish easy to spot, we came away faintly disappointed, but it is hard to say exactly why.

So let me complain about misuse of technology for its own sake.   Each tank had a backlit display above it with text explaining what you could see.   The problem was that if there were several different species, then the text relating to only one of them was displayed at a time (by being backlit), and after a few seconds, it would move on to the next one.   So you look at the tank, and try to read about what's in there.   The text moves on before you finish reading it, and you have to wait until the one you want to read comes back.   What's wrong with plain text display showing everything you might want to know, all at the same time?  A low-tech panel below and in front of the dispaly would be much better.