The Seattle Aquarium has recently completed a $41 Million (US) expansion. It effectively adds a new "wing" as well as provding a sufficent entry, restaurant and gift shop (seemingly so important to aquariums): http://www.seattleaquarium.org/NetCommunity/Document.Doc?&id=329 If that doesn't work try: Seattle Aquarium Click on the "Fall 2007 issue of Currents" link. Has anyone been here..? What did you think..? Has anyone been before and after the expansion..? Care to do a review..? To save those metric users looking it up a gallon = 3.78 litres. Aquarium Map: http://www.seattleaquarium.org/NetCommunity/Document.Doc?&id=181 Further reading: Seattle Aquarium - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://www.zoobeat.com/25/killer-octopus-seattle-aquarium-13793/#post38718
Seattle Aquiriam It has been a long time since I was here , but I would have rated it as being in the top group of aquiriams in USA ( along with New England Aquiriam and Monterrey bay aquiriam ) From the entrance it doesnt look like much , but the outside shows very little Most of it was under the wharf where it is located . You could easily spend 3 - 4 hours there ( possibly more with the new extensions ) It was well worth a visit !
@NZ Jeremy: great work with all of the links! I visited the Seattle Aquarium two years ago, and am tempted to venture down to Seattle now that the expansion is 8 months old and the excitement has died down a bit. Apparently the opening of the renovations was the most popular 3-days in the history of the establishment, and so I'm thankful that I didn't choose to visit when it first opened. Seattle Aquarium is a decent place to visit, and I suppose significantly improved now that it has had $41 million in renovations/expansions. That dollar figure is a little misleading, as much of the cost was absorbed by replacing all of the support beams underneath the overall structure, and so only about half of the money went towards exhibits that visitors could actually see. I believe that San Diego Seaworld, Monterey Bay and Vancouver all have better aquariums, but Seattle's would perhaps rank higher than Sydney's and is definitely better than Melbourne Aquarium. There is a cool-looking octopus exhibit, with a thin tube connecting to large tanks, as well as a large area where visitors can touch many different undersea animals. The river otters are a delight to watch (as they always are in captivity) due to the fact that they barely ever stop moving! The shore birds/puffin exhibit is intriguing, and there are numerous smaller displays that I'd highly recommend. There is an underwater dome that is tremendously popular, as visitors are almost fully enclosed in an enormous, glassed tank. The brand-new "Window on Washington" tank appears to be very impressive, and the added cafe and visitor reception areas were well reviewed in the local newspaper. My criticism of the Seattle Aquarium would extend to its outside mammal exhibits. The northern fur seals, harbour seals and sea otters are all great to see, but their enclosures are far too small and disappointing compared to many other displays. These mammals all have exhibits outdoors, and that section of the aquarium is its weakest link.
@Snowleopard... Ever ventured down to Oregon to the aquarium at Newport..? Looks even better and features in the USA's top 10...
@NZ Jeremy: I know about the acclaimed Newport Aquarium, but even though I've driven all the way down the coast I never stopped in there. This summer on our 7-8 week road trip my wife and I might stop in at the National Aquarium in Baltimore as it is highly regarded as well. Wé'll see how it goes, as there are a number of zoos and aquariums that we'll see on the trip. We are planning to cross 9 Canadian Provinces and then drive through about 25 U.S. States...so no doubt we'll see at least 12 different zoos and aquariums along with other sights.
I spent 2.5 hours at the Seattle Aquarium today, and it is the second time that I have visited this establishment. My wife and I went there two years ago (see earlier review on this thread) and now decided to visit after last summer's $41 million expansion. We never spend quite as much time at all of the aquariums that we visit in comparison to the zoos, but it is still an enjoyable experience every time we go. The good news is that the expansion/renovation of the aquarium is fantastic! The entrance is now in a different location, the outside of the building has been spruced up and repainted, there is a brand new cafe that is classy and well laid out, the entrance is much wider than normal, and the gift shop has been renovated and expanded as well. The key to the expansion of the entrance is SPACE. At the old entrance visitors were bottlenecked near the river otter exhibit, and since that species of mammal is always engaging then there was the tendency for people to hang around and block the aisle. Now the river otters are the last exhibit in the aquarium (except for the obligatory exit through the gift shop) and so the new entrance is a massively wide area called "the great hall". There is a ton of space for people to mingle, check their maps, get their bearings and plan their visit without holding up any other incoming visitors. After settling down in this large amount of space, the first thing that a visitor sees is the brand new, massive "Window on Washington Waters" tank that has an enormous tilted glass front that actually comes down at an angle. The top of the tank is probably at least 6 inches closer to the visitor than the bottom, and so it looms over everyone and welcomes them into the aquarium. There is absolutely zero signage at this tank, but a diver went in and fed the Puget Sound fish while attempting to explain that all of the animals can be found right off the coast of Seattle. The highlight was a large wolf eel that was stroked, patted and fed a healthy dose of fish food. The eel would wind itself around the head and body of the diver, and was remarkably tame and docile. There is also a second, smaller new tank that curves along the side of a walkway, and it is called "Crashing Waves". This one has barely any fish in it, and again there is zero signage, but many children were happy to run back and forth as the machine stimulated wave crashed down upon the mock-rock beach. This tank isn't nearly as impressive as the "Window on Washington Waters" tank, but adds to the new look and is a decent addition. All of the new amenities look crisp and clean, and the welcoming hall and tanks are a huge improvement on how the aquarium appeared two years ago. The inside sections of the Seattle Aquarium are all adequate, with a terrific pair of octopus tanks, a completely circular, 9-foot high jellyfish tank, and many smaller exhibits that are appealing and noteworthy. However, I still have major problems with the exhibits for the mammals. There are 2 harbour seals in a pitifully tiny tank, 4 sea otters without much space at all in a barren pair of tanks, and 3-4 northern fur seals in a tank that is also too small for such large animals. The puffins and other shorebirds are also in below-par exhibits and they tend to shy away from the public. Perhaps the aquarium needs to spend another $41 million and totally revamp their outside enclosures if they have any hope of joining the big boys like Georgia, John G. Shedd, Monterey, Vancouver and the Seaworlds.
Nice review Snowleopard, its been ten years since I last visited the quaint aquarium. I have a copy of their previous masterplan, that has now been set aside, that would have brought the Seattle Aquarium to a whole new level that no aquarium has gone to before...it certainly was expensive and bold - especially in an area with fault lines. This masterplan would have done a lot for the pinnipeds at the aquarium.
@ okapikpr: You must of been 11 when you visited last..? @snowleopard: You know what a fan I am of aquariums and I wholeheartedly believe aquariums should be for fish and fish only, there are so many fish species and amazing ocean habitats that a creative designer shouldn't even need to look at mammals... IMHO pinnipeds and cetacens are for zoos (if at all) only...
@NZ Jeremy: interesting comment about aquariums not needing pinnipeds and cetaceans. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is regarded as one of the very best in North America, and I think that the only mammals they have are sea otters. No seals or sea lions, no whales or dolphins...and yet even though they lack such crowd-pleasing animals they've maintained large attendance numbers and won numerous awards.
It doesnt hurt that the Monterey Bay Aquarium is right on the Pacific coast with a beautiful view of the ocean and the seasonal grey whale migration!
