A Whole New Ballgame
Written: Jan 01 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A Whole New Way to "Sea" Life, opening Spring 2005!
Cons: Only good things could come from such a grand new facility.
The Bottom Line: The former State Aquarium may have been lacking, but that's all about to change...
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| daedalus29's Full Review: New Jersey State Aquarium |
For the past four years, I have been privileged to work as an educator at the New Jersey State Aquarium. While many of the reviews prior to my own list the negatives associated with our facility, I must point out that, for a building designed to display animals native to New Jersey alone, the fact that we were able to represent aquatic habitats on a global scale is impressive. Yes, I'll admit--we have had our problems over the years, ranging from lack of display space to lack of advertising, and there have been times when the logistics of running the Aquarium have made my job all the more difficult. But all of that is about to change.
The New Jersey State Aquarium closed its doors to the public on September 6, 2004, after twelve years and six million visitors. Since then, our entire staff has collaborated with our new owners, Steiner Entertainment (www.steiner.com) to create a whole new way to 'sea' life, in the form of the all-new Adventure Aquarium. Gone are the old logos, old names, old displays, and old experiences. When the Adventure Aquarium opens on the site of the former State Aquarium in May 2005, it will be hardly recognizable.
Over the summer of 2004, groundbreaking took place for our new expansion project, adding a new 75,000 square foot wing to our existing structure. Inside, we will present four new exhibits:
1. West African Swamplands: An immersive experience. This climate-controlled exhibit will feature a family of hippopotami, living in one of the most advanced tanks ever constructed for underwater viewing. In the tank with them will be all the native animals--salt water crocodiles, marine fishes, and, flying throughout the exhibit, African birds of all species.
2. The Jules Verne Gallery: The new home for some of our most bizzare animals, including seadragons, seahorses, and jellies.
3. The Shark Realm: Unlike our old exhibit, Ocean Base Atlantic, this new experience surrounds you with nothing but sharks - dozens of them, some up to twelve feet long, swimming in a new 550,000 gallon tank. And now, you can not only see them through the windows, but also through our new seamless tunnel, which includes some incredible 360 degree vantage points. On top of this, we have also created an area for visitors to suit up and jump in with the animals in a special controlled SCUBA diving adventure.
4. DeepSea 4D: The Ride: Our first on-site ride attraction. Wearing 3D glasses, visitors are thrown into a fast-paced, adrenaline-pumped undersea adventure, with an added twist--state-of-the art seating that provide physical effects to dazzle nearly every visitor with unexpected touches, sounds, scents, and lighting.
And, of course, the existing building has been totally remodeled. Gone are those familiar elements of yesteryear, replaced by stunning new visuals, interactive kiosks, touch areas, and a whole new cadre of marine specimens from around the world. Even our old theatre shows have been completely rewritten to better suit the facility's new image. Joining our world-class 760,000 gallon Open Ocean Tank (the third largest on the continent) is another centerpiece, the three-story tall Irazu Falls, gateway to the rainforest, carved out of some of our old display spaces. Entrancing and enrapturing, our new Aquarium is expected to enchant about 1.2 million visitors in 2005 alone.
For four years I've worked at this museum, and I've never been more excited to welcome visitors to the new Adventure Aquarium, opening Memorial Day Weekend, May 2005.
http://www.adventureaquarium.com
http://www.njaas.org (Education Department)
http://www.steiner.com
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
daedalus29
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Reviews written: 1
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