The main building of the Museum of the World ocean was opened in September, 2003, when the  7th International Congress on the History of Oceanography was held. The exposition “The World of the Ocean. A Touch…” with its wonderful sea aquariums and collections of corals and shells appeared in 2004. The Congress-hall is located on the first floor. Concerts, exhibitions, congresses, conferences and presentations are held here. The lighthouse with the lens of Fresnel and an open-air terrace with a wonderful view at the Embankment and the Cathedral crowns the building. The main building is the first step to a large-scale construction of a modern expositional museum building. In 2008-2010 during the second and the third stages it is planned to create a permanent exposition “The World Ocean”. The area of an oceanarium will be 969 square meters alone! The system of designed rooms will include museum funds, a visit-centre and link buildings which will connect museum buildings into a single complex. Cinema and lecture hall along with exhibition halls will be located in two-storey. V. Gavrilov’s workshop staff is the author of the main building project.