Greater Cleveland Aquarium facts for kids
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Greater Cleveland Aquarium exterior
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| Date opened | January 21, 2012 |
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| Location | 2000 Sycamore Street Cleveland, Ohio 44113 U.S. |
| Coordinates | 41°29′47″N 81°42′14″W / 41.4963°N 81.7039°W |
The Greater Cleveland Aquarium is a cool aquarium located in Cleveland, Ohio. It's inside the old FirstEnergy Powerhouse building, right by the Cuyahoga River. This aquarium opened in January 2012. It has about 70,000 square feet (6,500 m²) of space for exhibits. You can see 55 different exhibits with fish from both local waters and faraway places. It's the only independent aquarium in Ohio, and it brought a public aquarium back to Cleveland after 26 years!
Contents
History of the Aquarium
Cleveland actually had an aquarium before! It opened on February 6, 1954, in Gordon Park. A group called the Cleveland Aquarium Society, the City of Cleveland, and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History worked together to create it. The aquarium was in an old building that used to be a bathhouse.
In the early 1950s, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History moved its fish collection to this new aquarium. Volunteers from the Cleveland Aquarium Society helped fix up the old building.
The old aquarium had 50 exhibits with both freshwater and ocean animals. You could see cool creatures like sharks, sawfish, seahorses, eels, squid, octopus, and coral. They even got some rare Australian lungfish in 1966 and a group of red-bellied piranhas in 1970. The aquarium was very popular, often having more visitors than it could handle! In 1967, a generous gift helped build a new section. This new part made the aquarium three times bigger.
Sadly, the old aquarium building started having problems. It had to close to the public in June 1985. The fish and exhibits were then moved to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo in 1986. You can still see some of them there today!
A New Aquarium for Cleveland
People started thinking about building a new aquarium in Cleveland around 2009. It was a big project that involved many people. A local developer named Jeffrey Jacobs really wanted the aquarium to be part of the Powerhouse building, which he owned.
Many groups worked together to make the new aquarium happen. The City of Cleveland helped with a loan. Other companies also invested money to build the facility and its exhibits.
The new Greater Cleveland Aquarium officially opened its doors on January 21, 2012. It was a big day for Cleveland! In 2014, Jacobs Entertainment, Inc. bought the aquarium completely.
What You Can See at the Aquarium
The Greater Cleveland Aquarium cost about $33 million to build. This included the building itself and all the amazing exhibits inside.
When it first opened in 2012, the aquarium had 8 main areas. These included "Ohio Lakes & Rivers" and "Lakes & Rivers of the World." There was also a "Discovery Zone," and sections for the "Indo-Pacific," "Northern Pacific," "Coastal," and "Coral Reef." A super cool part is the main "Shark SeaTube." This huge tank holds 230,000 gallons (870,000 L) of water! It has a 175-foot (53 m) long clear tunnel where you can walk right through the water. You get amazing views of different kinds of sharks and other sea life swimming all around you.
In 2018, the aquarium made some big upgrades to its public spaces. They used many recycled materials and improved the animal life support systems. They also added over a dozen new species, like weedy seadragons and splitfin flashlight fish. During this change, the "Lakes & Rivers of the World" area was split into two new galleries: the "Asia & Indonesia Gallery" and the "Tropical Forest Gallery." They also added an "Industry & Habitat Gallery" to show how nature and human industry connect.
In 2022, the aquarium welcomed its two millionth visitor! They also celebrated a very rare event: the birth of weedy seadragons. Only a few aquariums around the world have seen this happen!
Fun Experiences at the Aquarium
The Greater Cleveland Aquarium has lots of special events throughout the year. Some popular ones include Fin Fest and Scuba Claus. They also offer daily activities where you can learn more about the animals. You can listen to aquarist talks, which are chats with the animal caretakers. There are also animal encounters and talks by SCUBA divers who are actually in the tanks! Sometimes, you can even watch the animals being fed.
If you are a certified SCUBA diver, you can even dive into the Shark Gallery yourself through their Shark Dive CLE program!
Helping Save Animals (Conservation)
In 2012, the aquarium's general manager started a special non-profit group called the Splash Fund. This fund helps teach people about aquatic life and encourages everyone to help protect freshwater and saltwater habitats. They want people to learn how to live in ways that are good for the environment.
The Splash Fund does many important things. They organize regular beach cleanups at Edgewater Park. They also help schools that need it by providing educational programs about life science. A big project they are part of is called Saving and Protecting Ohio Turtle Diversity (SPOTD). This program works to help increase the number of spotted turtles in Northeast Ohio. These turtles are native to the area but are currently threatened.
