PLANS for a new £1.5m aquarium have been unveiled to coincide with the United Nations' 13th annual World Ocean Day. The aquarium at the Horniman Museum is being refurbished and moved to the building's basement where 9,000 litres of water, weighing 10 tonnes, will be home to more than 250 different species of animals and plants.

The aquarium will be split into seven zones including British pond life, seashores, a learning zone and a tropical zone.

Museum aquarium manager Kerwin Porter said: "The new home is going to be a greatly enhanced space where people can descend into the living underbelly of the museum, into what's bubbling beneath."

The project, due to open in spring 2006, has been partially funded by a £1.1m grant from science centre fundraisers ReDiscover but the museum stills needs £400,000 to meet the costs and any sponsors are gladly welcomed.

-For more information, visit horniman.ac.uk