After
visiting a number of zoos and aquariums, it occurred to me that many, if not
most, choose at least one cute or charismatic animal to serve as the “face” of
the institution. Interestingly, at New
England Aquarium, the star of the aquarium was not a fish, but a bird. On its’ advertising brochures, on the visitor
guide map, various signs, and even the cards handed out by the photo
concession, cute penguins were very prominent.
In fact, at the time of my visit in late May 2015, the theme printed on
the giant banners outside the entrance read: “Penguinology: Explore the Secret
World of Penguins”.
Penguinology
Most
of the first floor of this four-story aquarium was dedicated to penguin
displays. There were three species of
penguin exhibited: African Penguins (Spheniscus demersus), Southern Rockhopper
Penguins (Eudyptes chrysocome), and Little Blue Penguins (Eudyptula minor). Each species was exhibited in what was
basically a shallow pool of water with a number of artificial rock islands for
the penguins to rest upon.
African
Penguin exhibit
Southern
Rockhopper Penguin exhibit
Aquarium
staff cleaning the rocks
Aquarium
visitors gathered around the African Penguin exhibit to listen to a keeper’s
explanation.
The Fish Tanks
In the center of the aquarium
building is a cylinder-shaped main tank.
Around this main tank is a spiral ramp walkway leading to four levels of
displays. This large tank contained a
few sharks, large jacks, a couple of sea turtles, and hundreds of smaller
fishes and animals.
View
of the top of the main tank as seen on the 4th floor.
Interior
of main tank
There
were also many smaller exhibits built into the outer walls of each floor and
some smaller tanks which stood independently like the one in the below
photograph.
Weedy
Seadragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus)
One
wall of the first floor housed the “Tropical gallery” of fishes from tropical
waters.
Marine Mammals and
Birds
In the front of the aquarium, just
behind of the ticket booths, there was an exhibit of harbor seals. This exhibit was very popular with the
children, some of who ran alongside the seals as they swam back and forth along
the length of this enclosure.
In
the rear of the aquarium (the area closest to the harbor), there was a marine
mammal center that housed Northern fur seals and sea lions. Except for a few artificial rocks, I thought
that the exhibit area resembled a hotel swimming pool. The area was sheltered by a roof, there were
no plants within the exhibit, and the concrete areas surrounding the pool were
flat and sterile looking.
Northern
fur seal lounging on the cement patio.
On the
second floor, there was an exhibit that replicated a New England coastal scene
- complete with birds and conservation signs.
Educational Efforts
The amount of educational
materials available at this aquarium is one of its strong points. It was clear that this aquarium invested a
lot of energy into providing opportunities for visitors, especially the
children, to learn something about the animals on display and their
environment. Explanatory signs and
displays featuring messages on conservation of the ocean environment and marine
creatures were everywhere.
The
signs were attractive and full of information…
…they
also complemented the exhibits well.
The
below three photos show some of the explanatory exhibits installed at the
marine mammal center. I thought that they were eye-catching and
easy-to-understand.
Opportunities for Close
Animal Encounters
On the third level, there was
an “Edge of the Sea Tidepool Touch Tank” where visitors could touch creatures
such as starfish and horseshoe crabs. Unfortunately,
this installation was tucked into a fairly small and narrow area, and therefore
only a small number of visitors at a time could approach the touch tank. On the plus side, aquarium staff was constantly
stationed here to supervise visitor interactions with the animals and to provide
explanations.
Souvenir shop
The
souvenir shop was very large and was stocked with a wide variety of merchandise
and branded goods.
Stuffed
animals
Clothes
and bags
One
very interesting discovery was this book containing sustainable seafood
recipes. It was very consistent with the
conservation messages conveyed throughout the aquarium.
Getting There
The
New England Aquarium is located in Boston Boston
(Note:
All photos taken in this post were taken during a visit on May 29, 2015. The comments in this post are based on
observations made on that day.
Conditions may have since changed.
Please check it out for yourself!)