A new Sea Life Aquarium is being planned for New Jersey with a New York City theme. I know Sea Life is known for its commercial appeal, but this crass commercialism is a new low. Read the article and look at the artist's conceptions but be prepared to throw your computer across the room... A New York City-themed Aquarium Is Opening in the American Dream Mall
You've got to understand, this is the new direction aquariums have always needed! I love brilliant theming and gratuitous puns! Seriously, Shark Tale much?
I should've made that more clear. I guess a more blunt delivery would be more biting, but if it helps anyone who comes across the post for the first time, I'll do it.
I hate to say it, but this theming is quite thoughtful. There is nothing quite like the excitement of Times Square and Broadway; I should know--I got from PhD in Theatre and Dramatic Literature while living there for 12 years. But once I moved to NJ and my mobility declined, I now know what people say when they feel it's a long cumbersome process to go into the City. For all of those who will never go past the magalopolis that is East Rutherford, this is a clever way of offering a tongue-in-cheek taste of Broadway with aquatic animals. I'm sure it's over-priced like everything there, but I like the three-way purpose of providing family-friendly, aquaria experiences, with a taste of Broadway. Rather clever and sophisticated, especially compared to all the road show/petting zoos we're seeing shut down. If this company can find ways to bring small-but-exciting aquaria experiences to local malls, that's a step up in chances to make conservation a priority for the coming generations. Let's see how well they do before casting judgment.. .....especially when there's still the less-promising SeaQuest ready to open in the Woodbridge Mall....
No, no, no, you don’t understand. Anything that isn’t striving to be the most natural looking as possible is horrible to the animals and has no conservation value at all. No person in the world will get any knowledge or understanding of the animals on display unless the tank is filled with mock rock, fake plants, and plastic coral. (just poking fun here folks. There’s been discussions on this sort of thing here before and it does not end well.)
I agree with you in this count. Although these sorts of enclosures may be somewhat of an eyesore for us Zoochatters, there have been many studies that the animals don't mind at all whether the rock is realistic or not, or whether it is multicoloured or not. The real issue is size and opportunites to climb, swim, etc..
Mixed feelings after looking at the concept art, the idea is interesting but if it ends up anything like the concept art I think it's going to be overblown. Also it's completely unnatural theming. I guess my hopes are if they're going to all that trouble of such heavy theming, I hope the animal exhibits get the same attention.
Exactly what I was thinking. East Rutherford is a HUGELY popular location right now. In addition to the pro sports teams, they have some very high-priced activities like indoor skiing. Rents are off the charts, so the only way to make it here, especially with both the other attractions available AND the high expectations of people willing to pay a lot, they'll shut down in a NY minute if it's not top notch. A lot of planning has gone into this, so I think they know they'll have to be excellent in every way. Exactly the opposite is the Sea Quest opening in Woodbridge. The clientele won't be as highbrow, and not many will have high expectations of an aquarium in a mall, so even if it's disappointing, no one's going to break a sweat. They don't list on their website what one-time admission is, but they're hawking year-long memberships for $29, so this is in a completely different class. No set date has been announced, but I'm planning to check it out once it opens.
Despite it giving me terrible Shark Tale flashbacks, I kinda dig this. I'm into both theme parks and zoos, so this appeals to me big-time. I love some good immersive theming, and, based on the concept art, I could definitely see this being just that. Of course, as has already been said, I hope that the actual aquarium is as quality as the proposed theming. Ultimately, the focus ought to be the animals and their exhibits at an aquarium.
It could work if it was merely signage leading to an exhibit about the Hudson Canyon (should they exhibit sharks like sandbars and sand tigers). Otherwise, yeah. Shark Tale. (BTW Sharp Talk is an AMAZING YTP of Shark Tale if anyone's interested)
Thanks for the lead to Sharp Talk! I know you were just using Hudson Canyon as an example, but for those who may not know, the New York Aquarium's incredible new shark exhibit is exactly what Wyman describes, the Hudson Canyon off NYC's coast with sandbar and other sharks. Lol l think the "canyon" Sea Life envisions is the one lined by skyscrapers called Broadway.
