Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada opened its 135,000-square-foot facility today, showcasing more than 16,000 marine animals from the ocean depths. We took advantage of a media preview before the crowds showed up in droves. Here’s the scoop.
- Regular ticket prices, adult $29.98, youth (ages 6-13) $24.98, children (3-5) $11.98
- 16,000 marine animals
- 50 live exhibits
- 5.7 million litres of water
- 450 species of fish
The aquarium is beautiful, no doubt. It’s an astounding work of engineering. Making your around the facility is easy, and although sharks are the main focus, there are plenty of little fish critters to discover as well, even a few from our own watery backyard.
The Canadian Waters Gallery is the first stop through the aquarium, followed in short order by Rainbow Reef. Then there’s the place that should get the most oohs and ahs, Dangerous Lagoon. This showstopper features 17 sharks and a myriad of other creatures swimming overhead as patrons stroll right under the aquarium (or they can make use of the handy-dandy moving sidewalk contraption).
Shark Reef is a smaller exhibit with a crawl-through tunnel for viewing. The interactive fun continues at the Discovery Centre, geared towards youngsters who have the opportunity to hang out in the yellow submarine, which includes a pop-up tank into the shark gallery.
The Gallery is next with eight tanks housing living coral, venomous fish, eels, sea horses and much more. The largest educational facility, Perfect Predators, follows The Gallery, where people can learn all about sharks, including my personal fave species, the California horn shark. Another under-the-radar species is the Atlantic mudskipper. A cute fish!
Another highlight, Ray Bay, follows Perfect Predators. Here, giant stingrays bask in a massive tank and a large touch pool is also included on the upper level. The last major exhibit is Planet Jellies, a unique gallery featuring the world’s largest kreisel tank.
Other features include the monitoring room, which allows aquarium guests to check out the systems that support the aquariums. In addition, there are plenty of play areas for children, as well as the usual café and gift shop.
Here are a few short videos taken this morning.
Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada, 288 Bremner Blvd., 647-351-FISH