Naming one of the Virginia Aquarium's new exhibits the Red Sea Tunnel Aquarium offered some real irony.
As the tube was lowered by crane into the aquarium on Friday, it called for a parting of biblical proportions. It wasn't an ocean that split, though. It was a metal roof.
When the $25 million renovation is done in 2009, there will be four new exhibits, all of which will replicate environments from Virginia's past. The tunnel, made of 6-inch-thick acrylic polymer, is indicative of the new wave in aquariums, said Maylon White, director of exhibits.
People don't just want to see fish - now they want to be part of the environment. That means a cushioned floor, some humidity... and a tunnel through the middle of the aquarium, with the likes of spotted eagle rays with 6-f oot wing spans swimming a ll around them.
"We want people to feel they're part of these habitats," White said.
"But don't worry," he added. "There will still be an area between you and the animals."
John Warren, (757) 222-5114, john.warren@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
