Melbourne Aquarium

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Melbourne Aquarium

 

The popular Melbourne Aquarium has been in operation since January 2000.

It was constructed from February 1998 to December 1999. Feddle Thorp architects designed the structure to look like a ship docked in the river. The aquarium extends seven meters below the ground where the popular “Oceanarium in the Round” is at the center. The 2.2 million liter oceanarium is designed around spectators who are made to feel as if they are the center of the aquarium’s teeming marine life.

Significant additions were made to the Melbourne Aquarium recently. It now extends from Yarra River through to Flinder Street where a new entrance is now located. The expansion allowed for new exhibits, which can be found nowhere else in Australia, including gentoo penguins, king penguins, and several Antarctic fish. The exhibition spaces have real ice and snow to mimic the cold Antarctic environment.

The aquarium is split in four levels. On Level One, the features include the Creepy Cave with the Giant Murray Cod, the Billabong, the Rock Pools, the Mangrove and the Upper Deck Café. The Ground Floor holds the Sink or Swim, the Coral Atoll, the Sea Jellies, the Creepy Cave with Japanese Spider Crabs, the Moorings Café and the Aquarium Shop. The Octopus Display and the Kids Play Area are on Level B1, and on Level B2 are the BHP Billiton Shark Conservation Project & Animal Nursery, the Oceanarium, the Fishbowl and the Ocean Theater.