Oklahoma Aquarium facts for kids
Main entrance
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| Date opened | May 28, 2003 |
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| Location | Jenks, Oklahoma, United States |
| Land area | 72,000 sq ft (6,700 m2) |
| Coordinates | 36°01′10″N 95°57′26″W / 36.019488°N 95.957165°W |
| Website | www.okaquarium.org |
The Oklahoma Aquarium is a large public aquarium located in Jenks. This city is a southern suburb of Tulsa. The aquarium opened its doors on May 28, 2003. It covers an area of 72,000-square-foot (6,700 m2).
The Oklahoma Aquarium is a special place for many reasons. It is home to an amazing variety of sea creatures. You can see more than 500 different species here. In total, there are over 10,000 animals living at the aquarium!
Discover Amazing Animals
The Oklahoma Aquarium is famous for its incredible collection of sharks. It has the world's largest exhibit of bull sharks. These powerful sharks live in a huge tank that holds 500,000-US-gallon (1,900,000 L) of water. Besides bull sharks, you can also see a loggerhead sea turtle, a zebra shark, and a humphead wrasse.
Explore Unique Habitats
The aquarium has many different exhibits to explore. Each one shows a unique environment. You can learn about animals from various parts of the world. Some exhibits focus on creatures without backbones, called invertebrates. Others highlight species found right here in Oklahoma. There are also displays about the Ozark Mountains habitats. You can even see a colorful coral reef exhibit.
Featured on TV
In July 2003, a famous naturalist and filmmaker named Nigel Marven visited the Oklahoma Aquarium. He filmed the bull sharks in their special tank. This footage was shown on the Discovery Channel's popular Shark Week series that same year. It helped show the world how amazing the aquarium's shark exhibit is.
Supporting the Aquarium
The Oklahoma Aquarium gets some of its funding from local community support. This helps keep the aquarium running and allows it to care for its many animals. People in Oklahoma can even get a special license plate that helps support the aquarium. A part of the fees from these plates goes directly to the facility.
