Birth of the Adventure Aquarium
Last September, the old New Jersey State Aquarium closed after twelve years of diminishing attendance. Ownership of the aquarium was transferred from the nonprofit New Jersey Academy for Aquatic Sciences to Ohio developer Steiner & Associates. Steiner also operates the highly successful Newport Aquarium in Newport, Kentucky.The Adventure Aquarium reopens after an investment of $53-million, raised by a combination of private investment and public grants, and nine months of renovation of the old building and the addition of a new wing which doubles the exhibit space.
The additions include not only a new name, but a new entrance along the waterfront, a new café with plenty of seating, retail space, and five major exhibits.
While the old aquarium opened in 1992 to a deserted Camden waterfront, the Adventure Aquarium is surrounded by numerous other entertainment options, including the Battleship New Jersey, Tweeter Center, Campbell's Field, and the promise of new riverfront development including the construction on a new ferry terminal, new waterfront condos, a new Imax theater. and a waterfront "town center" between the aquarium and Campbell's Field with housing units, office space, hotel/conference center and several restaurants.
Sneak Peak
As you enter the Adventure Aquarium, you take steps or escalator to the main exhibit floor. You immediately find yourself in the Feeding Frenzy Café which seats 152 inside, and approximately 150 outside overlooking the waterfront. You'll later learn that your visit to the aquarium ends at the Adventure Pier Gift Shop. The placement of these two commercial venues is clearly part of the new reality that the aquarium is now a self-supporting endeavor, no longer dependent on government funding.
Don't, however, be misled by these two commercial parts of the aquarium. What lies between the Café and the Gift Shop is a truly amazing experience.
Your visit will first take you into the old aquarium building that has undergone major renovations. The principal exhibit space here is the Ocean Realm which features exhibits of the numerous types of sea life that you'll find along the New Jersey shore and waters of the Western Atlantic. Here you'll find hermit crabs, terrapins (turtles), macaws and parrotfish, an artificial reef, spiny lobsters, seahorses, and even a moral eel.
The Ocean Realm
The highlight of this area is the Ocean Realm Theater. Behind the huge clear floor to ceiling window lies a 760,000-gallon tank filled with thousands of ocean species. This is the third largest exhibit of its type in North America. If you time your visit correctly you may catch one of the feeding shows where two scuba divers hand feed the huge fish, sea turtles and rays. Even if you don't make it for one of the feedings, you can sit here for quite a while just watching the thousands of fish and ocean creatures swim past,Outside you will catch the 170,000-gallon Seal Shores Exhibit, home to 7 harbor and gray seals and the 17,000-gallon Penguin Island, home to 21 African penguins.
This section of the Aquarium will also be home to the 4-D Theater that will open on July 1, 2005. Be sure to stop by the Touch-A-Shark Tank, especially if you have children with you.
A walk back through the Café allows you time for a food and drink break, or you can continue to the other side of the Café and enter the new addition to the Aquarium which is home to some of the Aquarium's most exciting additions - The West African River Experience, the Jules Verne Gallery and the Shark Realm.
The West African River Experience, Jules Verne Gallery and Shark Realm
The Jules Verne Gallery features exhibits of some of the most exotic and fascinating creatures of the sea including a giant Pacific octopus, sea dragons, jellyfish and more.
The Shark Realm features over 20 sharks and 850 other sea creatures in a new 550,000-gallon, two-story tank with multiple viewing locations including an underwater shark tunnel where the sharks swim beside you, above you and below you.
The new Adventure Aquarium is nothing like its predecessor - thank goodness! It is without question a new "must visit" venue for locals and visitors alike. Combined with a visit to the Battleship New Jersey, you can easily spend a full day along the Camden Waterfront.
The aquarium is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. including holidays. Timed tickets are required. Advance reservations are available by phone at 866-451-AQUA or at the aquarium website. Admission is $16.95 for Adults, $13.95 for Children (2-12) and Seniors. Children under 2 are free.
