Blue Reef Aquarium facts for kids
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| Location | In England with locations in Portsmouth, Newquay, Tynemouth, Hastings, and Bristol |
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Blue Reef is a group of awesome aquariums across England. These places are super fun and let you explore the amazing underwater world. You can see all sorts of sea creatures, from tiny seahorses to big sharks! It's a great way to learn about ocean life and how important it is to protect our planet's waters.
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Discover Blue Reef Aquariums!
Blue Reef Portsmouth
- 50°46′48″N 1°05′34″W / 50.7801159°N 1.0928095°W
The Blue Reef Aquarium Portsmouth is located right on the coast in Southsea, Portsmouth. It has over 40 different displays. Here you can meet all kinds of sea animals. Look out for tropical sharks, cool lobsters, delicate seahorses, and lots of colorful tropical fish!
The best part of this aquarium is its huge ocean tank. It has a special underwater tunnel that you can walk through. This tunnel lets you get super close to the reef fish swimming all around you. It feels like you're right in the ocean!
In 2007, the aquarium added something new and exciting: the Blue Reef Beach Club. This is an outdoor play area perfect for kids. It has fun water features like fountains and giant showers, making it a great place to cool off and play.
Blue Reef Tynemouth
- 55°01′40″N 1°25′49″W / 55.0276839°N 1.430407°W
The Blue Reef Aquarium in Tynemouth is another fantastic aquarium in Tynemouth, England. Just like the other Blue Reef locations, it features over 40 displays. You can see everything from tropical sharks and lobsters to seahorses and bright tropical fish here.
The main attraction is a giant ocean tank with an underwater tunnel. Walking through it gives you an amazing view of tropical coral reef fish. They swim right above and around you!
Besides fish, this aquarium also has other interesting creatures. You might spot colorful poison dart frogs, ancient nautilus creatures, and even some unique toads. They also have turtles, terrapins, and playful otters.
In Easter 2007, the aquarium opened "Seal Cove." This is a huge pool, holding 500,000 liters of water! It's designed to look like a natural seal habitat. It has rocky areas and underwater caves for the seals to explore. Large viewing windows and a ramp let you watch the seals. You can see how agile they are both above and below the water.
In July 2019, this aquarium changed its name to Tynemouth Aquarium.
Blue Reef Newquay
- 50°24′52″N 5°05′05″W / 50.4145775°N 5.084841°W
The Blue Reef Aquarium Newquay is located in Newquay, England. It's home to more than 40 different displays. You can see tropical sharks, lobsters, seahorses, and many kinds of tropical fish.
At the heart of the aquarium is a large ocean tank. It has an underwater tunnel where you can get up close with tropical coral reef fish. It's like diving into the ocean without getting wet!
Other cool animals you can find here include giant Pacific octopus, triggerfish, nautilus, cuttlefish, turtles, and terrapins.
In 2008, the aquarium opened a new area called "Tropical Shark Lagoon." This display looks like a mangrove lagoon. It's home to different kinds of tropical sharks and rays.
You can get close-up views of stingrays, zebra sharks, and blue spotted rays. There are also many exotic fish. This area is also a nursery for young sea creatures. They grow here before moving to the open ocean.
The Story of Barry the Worm
In 2009, something unusual happened at the Newquay aquarium. A four-foot-long worm, nicknamed Barry, was finally caught! This polychaete worm had been causing trouble for months. It was damaging the coral reefs in one tank, even ripping some in half. It also injured one of their Tang fish. Barry has venomous bristles, and touching them can cause numbness. Now, Barry lives safely in his own tank.
Blue Reef Hastings
- 50°51′22″N 0°35′46″E / 50.8559909°N 0.5961998°E
The Blue Reef Aquarium Hastings opened on March 21, 2008, in Hastings, England. It was the fourth aquarium opened by the Blue Reef group.
Before it opened, the aquarium had a big makeover. About £1.5 million was spent to transform it into a modern and exciting place to visit.
You can start by exploring the hidden world of UK waters. Then, Blue Reef takes you on a journey to the amazing "underwater gardens" of the Mediterranean Sea. Finally, you'll see the beautiful tropical waters. These areas are home to seahorses, puffer fish, living corals, and tropical sharks.
The most important part of the aquarium is the coral reef. It's inside a large ocean display with an underwater tunnel. You can walk through it and feel surrounded by the ocean.
When Blue Reef took over this aquarium, it was called Underwater World. They also bought another local attraction nearby called Smugglers Adventure. This is located in St. Clement's Caves.
Bristol Aquarium
- 51°27′03″N 2°35′57″W / 51.4507488°N 2.5990722°W
Bristol Aquarium is an aquarium located in Bristol, England. In April 2008, Blue Reef signed a deal for the Wildwalk and IMAX buildings. They opened the aquarium in November 2009. Later, the aquarium became Bristol Aquarium. It is no longer part of the Blue Reef brand, but it is still run by Aspro UK.
This aquarium has over 40 living displays. You can see tropical sharks, lobsters, seahorses, and many kinds of tropical fish.
The main feature is a large ocean tank with an underwater tunnel. This tunnel lets you get very close to the tropical coral reef fish.
Other displays are home to octopus, puffer fish, electric eels, tropical sharks, terrapins, and giant Amazon river fish. Bristol Aquarium is special because it's the only aquarium in the UK with a giant botanical house. This house is filled with hundreds of different plants and flowers from all over the world.
