THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, January 1, 1995                TAG: 9412300011
SECTION: COMMENTARY               PAGE: J4   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   31 lines

NO TO NAUTICUS - AT LEAST AS IT IS

Regarding your article on Norfolk's re-funding of Nauticus:

I recently took some neighborhood kids to Nauticus for a Saturday outing. I asked them today if they would go back, and they said, ``No.''

They said some of the things were interesting, but basically the place was boring and not worth going back to. They found the Aegis system interesting but not worth repeating - the egg search was fun, but by the time they knew how to operate the system the ride was over. The marine areas are much better represented at the Marine Science Museum in Virginia Beach.

When I asked the kids what they would change to make Nauticus more interesting, their answers reminded me of the Underwater World in Singapore, which is a giant aquarium that you can actually walk through. They also suggested adding more electronic games that relate to Navy warfare.

When we went to the restaurant at 4 that afternoon, we were the only people eating. Several of the staff sat around reading newspapers and talking. They looked as bored as we were.

FRANK REIDY

Virginia Beach, Dec. 21, 1994 by CNB