The Discovery Passage Aquarium opens Saturday morning, and staff are looking forward to teaching locals and visitors about our ocean.
Curator Ricky Belanger and staff were putting the final touches on displays and getting the tanks ready yesterday for some new inhabitants. He doesn’t want to spoil the surprise, but says some of the tanks in the back have been replaced and the water supply system improved to accommodate species new to the aquarium.
Other tanks will let people witness species change through the season.
“We can witness full life cycles of animals, particularly ones that are short-lived,” Belanger says. “They will come through the pipes, they’ll settle out, morph into their adult forms, and complete their life cycle, all in less than one season.”
Old favourites remain, including the touch tank and wild salmon habitat, which lets people see how salmon change from their freshwater to saltwater forms up close.
Belanger says the aquarium’s goal is to promote a healthy and well-understood ocean. The aquarium opens Saturday morning, May 20, at 10 am and is located at the entrance to the Discovery Fishing Pier, across from the Maritime Heritage Centre and Visitor Information Centre.
Employment opportunities
Belanger said the aquarium is looking for people interested in working with kids and sea life this summer, running summer camps at the Explorer Lab. Work will include operating the camps, doing intertidal surveys, beach seines, and other hands-on educational work to teach people about ocean life.
The aquarium is also looking for someone to work as a volunteer coordinator, supporting and managing volunteers in the aquarium’s interpretive programs.
For more information, contact the Discovery Passage Aquarium through their website.Â
