New England Aquarium


The New England Aquarium is a public aquarium located in Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to the main aquarium building, attractions at the New England Aquarium include the Simons IMAX Theatre and the New England Aquarium Whale Watch, which operates from April through November. The aquarium has more than 22,000 members and hosts more than 1.3 million visitors each year.

History

Planning for the aquarium began in 1962, with the principal designer being Peter Chermayeff of Cambridge Seven Associates. The building was opened to the public in 1969. The Giant Ocean Tank opened in 1970, and at the time was the largest circular ocean tank in the world.
In 1974, a multi-storied barge, Discovery, was moored next to the Aquarium. It served as a floating mammal pavilion for the aquarium as the lack of land limited the aquarium's ability for expansion. This 1,000-seat observer stadium overlooked a pool. It hosted dolphins until they were transferred in the mid-1990s, and sea lions, until the ship's decommissioning. Discovery was officially retired in the mid-2000s due to its old age and high cost of maintenance.
In 2013, the Giant Ocean Tank was given a major facelift, with the addition of a replica of a Caribbean coral reef.
The new West Wing was completed in 1998 by Schwartz/Silver Architects. The glass and steel addition includes the harbor seal exhibit on the public plaza, ticketing booth, changing exhibit galleries, gift shop, cafe, and lobby.
In 1999 the aquarium opened a new rehabilitation center for harbor porpoises in Duxbury. The facility includes a rehabilitation tank that can house three porpoises at a time.
The 428-seat Matthew and Marcia Simons IMAX Theatre opened in 2001 in a separate building designed by E. Verner Johnson and Associates. The six-story high screen is wide by high, and its projector can show both 2D and 3D movies.
In 2003 the aquarium opened "Amazing Jellies", a $1.9 million, twelve-tank jellyfish exhibit emphasizing that jellyfish are survivors and are actually likely to increase with climate change.
In 2006, the aquarium earned full accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
In 2009, the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center opened. This open-air exhibit lets visitors view the aquarium's Northern fur seals.
In 2010, the Animal Care Center opened. This off-site facility in Quincy, includes holding space for animals during exhibit renovations, quarantine space for new arrivals, and is home to the marine animal rescue and rehabilitation center.
In 2013, the Aquarium reopened the Giant Ocean Tank after a ten-month renovation. The new Giant Ocean Tank features a new reef designed to represent a pre-Columbian Caribbean reef, new lighting with the reflective dome, and better views with the new viewing windows along the tank. Additionally, the number of fish in the tank has increased from 800 to 2,000 and number of species has increased from 90 to 140.

Leadership and staff

The current interim chief executive officer of the aquarium is Vikki Spruill, who currently in charge of the Virginia-based Council on Foundations, became the new CEO on July 30, 2018.

Exhibits

Located in the central open atrium of the main building, the principal feature of the Aquarium is the Giant Ocean Tank, a cylindrical tank simulating a Caribbean coral reef. This tank houses bonnethead sharks, sandtiger shark, sea turtles, stingrays, moray eels, barracuda, and many smaller reef-living fish. Open at the top, the concrete tank is surrounded by a walkway that spirals down, allowing visitors access to 52 windows that offer views of the reef from every angle and level.
At the bottom, the tank stands in a large, square penguin exhibit, hosting African penguins, Northern and Southern rockhopper penguins and little penguins. The penguin exhibit can be seen from the spiral walkway of the central tank or from elevated viewing areas that completely surround the perimeter. The penguins live on several artificial rock islands in the exhibit.
Surrounding the atrium are four levels of smaller exhibits including:
In front of the Aquarium is a harbor seal exhibit, which can be seen for free without entering the building. Four Northern fur seals and three California sea lions are on exhibit behind the Aquarium in the open-air New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center on the harborside terrace, which opened in 2009 with views of Boston Harbor. All the New England Aquarium's marine mammals participate in daily training sessions that are open for public viewing and participation.
The "Amazing Jellies" exhibit in the West Wing features Aurelia aurita, sea nettles, Cassiopea, Palauan Lagoon jellies and Phyllorhiza punctata, all from diverse habitats around the world. In 2011, the Trust Family Foundation Shark and Ray Touch Tank opened in the West Wing. At, it is the largest on the east coast. Some of the species in the exhibit include cownose rays, yellow rays and guitarfish. It is a permanent exhibit that will allow for more interaction between the animals and the visitors.

Special exhibits

Penguin Power

Focusing on the aquarium's penguins in 2010, this theme helped show off the natural powers of penguins. Visitors learned how penguins survive in the wild and how to protect them.

Move It! Marine Mammals in Motion

Coinciding with the opening of the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center in 2009, Marine Mammals In Motion highlighted the athleticism of the Aquarium's Northern fur seals and Atlantic harbor seals. A program pathway encouraged kids to be active with calf stretches, dancing, spinning and jumping. The Marine Mammal Center also draws connections between marine mammals and humans and points out the challenges marine mammals face in our oceans today.

Turtles Uncovered

In this 2008 exhibit, visitors learned that turtles and tortoises have lived on Earth for about 300 million years, long before the dinosaurs were around, but now some turtles are faced with the threat of extinction due to pollution, habitat loss and global climate change.

Sharks and Rays

A temporary touch tank in 2008, home to southern stingrays, cownose rays, yellow stingrays and coral catsharks, has now become a permanent exhibit, officially named the Trust Family Foundation Shark and Ray Touch Tank. The clear, shallow water allows visitors to touch and feel the different species, watching them feed in the reconstruction of their natural mangrove and lagoon themed habitat. The tank not only promotes the animals' importance in maintaining the ecosystem, but also the maintenance humans can provide for the environment.

Killer Instincts

This special program in 2007 helped visitors learn about the animals that we fear the most. The special program included an interactive passport program along with live animal presentations and a large-format, high definition shark video. Prehistoric marine reptiles appeared in 3D at the Simons IMAX Theatre in Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure. Featured animals included the sand tiger shark, anaconda, great barracuda, electric eel, lionfish, moray eel, giant Pacific octopus and southern stingray.

Location

The New England Aquarium is on the Central Wharf along Atlantic Avenue on the waterfront in downtown Boston and adjacent to Long Wharf and the Rose Kennedy Greenway. The Boston Harborwalk goes around the perimeter of the Aquarium. The nearest subway stop is Aquarium Station on the MBTA's Blue Line, but the Aquarium is also a short walk from the Haymarket Station on the Orange and the Green Lines. The Aquarium is within walking distance of the North End, Government Center, and the Financial District.

Conservation

The aquarium staff often participates in rescue efforts for stranded marine mammals and sea turtles.

Whale watch

During the months of April to October, the aquarium hosts a whale watch cruise with partners at Boston Harbor Cruises. Watchers interact with naturalists and educators. The ship whisks the watchers to a location east of Boston called the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. This rich feeding ground is home to a wide diversity of large whales, such as humpback whales, finback whales, minke whales, pilot whales, and the endangered right whales. Also, in some cases, a white-sided dolphin might be seen. Most trips last around 3 to 4 hours.
If the unusual circumstance happens that no whales are sighted, then a voucher is given to the watchers to return for another trip.

Cancelled expansions

In 1988 the aquarium announced plans to sell the current land in order to build a bigger aquarium in the Charlestown Navy Yard. The project was to have cost $150 million and was to have taken up of land. Designs had the drydock to be flooded, and at one exhibit visitors were to have been below ground. If it had been built it would have been the largest aquarium constructed at that time. The proposed aquarium was predicted to have attracted around 2 million visitors each year. However, the proposal to move the aquarium was cancelled in 1991, when neighbors of the proposed site objected to its construction, and when the aquarium appeared unlikely to sell its original Central Wharf site for a sufficiently high price.
When the site relocation was canceled, the Trustees proposed to expand the current aquarium on both sides in 1992. The East wing project would have been a expansion costing $43 million, and would include a Gulf Stream Exhibit. Also it included a x window of the new Gulf of Maine exhibit.
The project was proposed to be finished in 2004, but was cancelled after 9/11 due to a serious attendance drop because of fear of bombing of crowded areas, the Big Dig project's closing of the Aquarium MBTA station, and the rising cost of the project, up to $125 million. In order to pay back the money they had raised, the aquarium made major budget and staff cuts, causing the aquarium to lose its accreditation in 2003. However, the aquarium regained accreditation in 2006, and was back on track financially. If the new facility had been built in 2012, it would have cost about $400 million to build.

Future

Cambridge Seven Associates recently worked with the museum on upgrades to the Giant Ocean Tank, as well as creating other exhibits. As a final part to their five-year $42 million upgrade, which started in 2007, the New England Aquarium renovated its Giant Ocean Tank from Labor Day of 2012 to July 2013. The tank received enlarged viewing windows, a new reef designed to represent the pre-Columbian Caribbean reef, enhanced lighting, and a reflective domed ceiling overhead. In addition, the wooden wall encircling the ocean tank was replaced with a transparent acrylic wall to facilitate better viewing; a new ramp was constructed from the fourth floor elevator to the top of tank; a new education center was located on the top floor; giant screens were added that connect to a diver's helmet camera for onlookers to see; and on the ground floor a new exhibit called the Blue Planet Action Center was constructed to show the aquarium's conservancy efforts.
During the renovation, the Giant Ocean Tank's inhabitants were temporarily relocated to the penguin exhibit. Most of the aquarium's penguins were in turn moved to the Aquarium's Animal Care Center in Quincy. However, the little blue penguins stayed at the aquarium in a temporary exhibit near the New Balance Marine Mammal Center. By June 2013, the animals were returned to their homes, along with 70-80 new species of sharks and fishes, including three five-year-old axolotl triplets named Georgio, Fredrick, and Pasqualay.