Friday, November 9, 2018

Aquaria KLCC (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)


Aquaria KLCC is located in the basement of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.  Built totally underground, exhibits are arranged on two levels. It seemed to have been built like the Siam Ocean World in Bangkok, except on a smaller scale.

Educational Displays Signage

Upon entering the facility, the visitor encounters many large and colorful explanatory signs.  One gets the strong impression that this aquarium would be a useful destination for school excursions.  One of the first large signs I encountered was a call to action regarding the shark finning problem.


The next set of colorful signs and the first live exhibit featured South American piranhas.




This type of educational signage continues throughout the facility:

Electric eels exhibit




Sign regarding survival of animals


Sign explaining characteristics and habitat of Raccoon Butterflyfish


Other signage



Exhibit regarding sharks and shark finning problem






Close Encounters with Animals
Besides the educational signage, there were interactive exhibits that appeared to be especially aimed at young visitors.  The first of these was a touch tank located immediately after the piranha exhibit near the entrance.  




Freshwater fishes
The below photographs depict the area surrounding the large tubular tank located at the beginning of the “Freshwater Journey” section. 






Ocean Fishes
The following photographs show various salt-water fish exhibits.














Shark Tank
Located on the lowest level 2 was the exhibit for Sand Tiger Sharks.  It featured an area where visitors rode upon a moving conveyor belt through an underwater tunnel.





I found that the slow moving conveyor walkway made me feel a little nauseous, so I walked along the non-moving area adjoining the conveyor belt.


Souvenirs
Just as much as promoting educational messages, the sale of souvenir trinkets appeared to be an important priority of this facility.  There was a sales desk located midway through the exhibit course near the shark tanks featuring small items.  Closer to the exit, there was a fully stocked souvenir store which even included fairly pricey jewelry. The large size of this store seemed disproportionately large when compared to the relatively small scale of the aquarium facility as a whole. 


Getting There


As mentioned earlier, Aquaria KLCC is located in the basement of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center.  The convention center is within walking distance from many downtown hotels and is located near to the world famous Petronas Twin Towers.


Entering the convention center from the south entrance, visitors will see stairs and escalators going down to the basement.


Once downstairs, the entrance to the aquarium should be easily seen.



Admission for foreigner adults was 65 ringgits.

(Note: All photos in this post were taken during a visit made on September 4, 2018.  The comments in this post are based on observations made at that time.  Conditions may have since changed.  Please check it out for yourself!)