ABQ BioPark Aquarium facts for kids
The ABQ BioPark Aquarium building
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| Date opened | 5 December 1996 |
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| Location | Albuquerque Biological Park, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States |
| Coordinates | 35°05′36″N 106°40′44″W / 35.0932°N 106.6790°W |
| Volume of largest tank | 285,000 U.S. gallons (1,080,000 L) |
| Memberships | AZA |
The ABQ BioPark Aquarium is a super cool place to visit in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. It's part of the Albuquerque Biological Park, right next to the ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden. This aquarium is home to amazing saltwater animals from the Gulf of Mexico and the South Pacific. You can see creatures from different ocean spots, like sandy beaches, shallow waters, colorful coral reefs, and even the deep, open ocean.
One of the most exciting parts is a huge shark tank! It holds 285,000 U.S. gal (1,080,000 L) of water and has a giant viewing window that's 38-foot (12 m) wide and 9-foot (2.7 m) high. Imagine seeing sharks swim right in front of you! Other popular exhibits include Jellies: Aliens of the Sea, where you can watch moon jellies and Japanese sea nettles float around. There's also the Pacific Coral Reef Tunnel, which is full of bright, colorful fish.
In The South Pacific Gallery, you'll find graceful seahorses, unique pipefishes, and many other beautifully patterned reef fish. Want to see how fish in the Rio Grande have changed over time? Check out The Rio Grande at Central Bridge exhibit in the lobby. And for a really special experience, the Shark/Ray Encounter lets you get up close with bamboo sharks and stingrays with a guide.
The Albuquerque Biological Park, which includes the aquarium, is officially recognized by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). This means it meets high standards for animal care and education.
Contents
Explore the Amazing Exhibits
The ABQ BioPark Aquarium is designed like a journey. You start at a fountain that looks like the beginning of the Rio Grande river. Your adventure ends at a massive 285,000-U.S.-gallon (1,080,000 L) saltwater tank, home to creatures from the wide-open Gulf of Mexico.
Freshwater Wonders
When you first step inside, you'll see freshwater tanks. These tanks show you the kinds of fish that live in the Rio Grande. You can compare fish found in the river today with those that lived there a long time ago. Right nearby, there's a small movie theater where you can watch cool films about aquatic life.
Gulf Coast Adventures
Next, you'll enter the Gulf of Mexico Coast Gallery. This area has several exhibits that show you what the shores of the Gulf of Mexico are like. You'll see fish and birds from this region, plus stingrays and a special exhibit for Texas Terrapins. There's even a retired shrimp fishing boat!
Playful River Otters
In July 2018, the aquarium added a big new exhibit for North American River Otters. This fun area is home to three otters: two females named Chaos and Mayhem, and a male named Dixon. The exhibit has different levels, with land areas, cozy hiding spots, and lots of dirt and plants. You can watch the otters play in their large pool, and there's even an underwater viewing tank! Around this tank, you'll find smaller tanks with local fish like bluegill and catfish. There are also terrariums with local amphibians, such as leopard frogs and bullfrogs, and cool invertebrates like crayfish.
Colorful Coral Reefs
After the otters, you'll discover a replica of a vibrant coral reef. It's filled with amazing fish like parrotfish, angelfish, grunts, porcupinefish, and triggerfish. Then, you can walk through a coral reef tunnel that shows off many different fish species from the South Pacific.
Oddities of the Ocean
The next part of your journey features a series of smaller tanks. These tanks are home to "oddities" – unique creatures like clownfish, seahorses, pipefish, jellyfish, hagfish, cuttlefish, and nautilus. Sometimes, there's even a touch pool where you can gently feel stingrays and baby bamboo sharks!
In 2020, the aquarium added a new exhibit just for frogfish. The coral exhibit also got much bigger, growing from a small 200-gallon tank to a huge 1,500-gallon one. The aquarium now cares for 50 different kinds of coral!
The Giant Shark Tank
The final and most exciting exhibit is the enormous 285,000-U.S.-gallon (1,080,000 L) saltwater tank. It has a giant 38-foot (12 m) viewing window. Here, you can see six different types of sharks, including sandtiger sharks and zebra sharks. You'll also spot tarpon, barracudas, stingrays, huge schools of fish, moray eels, and three kinds of sea turtles: loggerhead, Kemp's ridley, and hawksbill. Every day, divers actually go into the tank to feed the animals and keep everything clean!
Don't forget to check out the restaurant and gift shop located inside the aquarium building!
Protecting Our Oceans
The ABQ BioPark Aquarium is very involved in helping to save fish from the Rio Grande. They have special programs, like breeding Rio Grande silvery minnows and working to protect the Socorro isopod. In 2008, something amazing happened: three blacktip shark pups were born at the aquarium! This was the first time this type of shark had ever been born in captivity. You can even watch a video of the births online here.
The main goal of the aquarium is to teach people all about the world's oceans and the incredible animals that live in them. They host fun events all year long, like monthly sleepovers, a special "Shark Week," and camps for kids during summer and spring breaks. They also celebrate important days like World Oceans Day and Earth Day.
What's Next for the Aquarium?
There are exciting plans for the future of the ABQ BioPark Aquarium! New ideas include an updated entrance to make your visit even better. There are also plans to bring a North American Otter exhibit closer to the existing Pelican pond. Plus, they want to update the exhibits for local fish.
Past Exhibits and Residents
- A hall that showed off cool model boats used to be in the Aquarium. It's now closed to make space for the new Otter Exhibit.
- The current Terrapin Exhibit once housed baby American alligators before the terrapins moved in. Even before the alligators, it was home to different kinds of fish.
- The South Pacific walk-through tunnel, which now has many colorful fish, used to be home to Moray eels and other types of eels.
See also
In Spanish: Acuario de Albuquerque para niños
