SeaGlass Carousel facts for kids
The SeaGlass Carousel is a super cool, fish-themed ride located in Battery Park at the very tip of Manhattan Island in New York City. It opened its doors to the public on August 20, 2015, offering a unique and magical experience.
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What is the SeaGlass Carousel?
The SeaGlass Carousel is not your average carousel! Instead of horses, you ride on beautiful, glowing fish that look like they're made of sea glass. These fish shimmer and change colors, making you feel like you're exploring an amazing underwater garden.
How the Carousel Was Created
The idea for this special carousel came from Warrie Price, who helped start the Battery Park Conservancy. City leaders saw the carousel as a sign that the area was recovering after Hurricane Sandy caused a lot of damage in 2012. It was part of a bigger plan to make the park even better.
The carousel cost about $16 million to build. Half of that money came from the city and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. A ride on this magical carousel costs $5 and lasts for about three and a half minutes. It took almost ten years to design and build this amazing attraction!
Who Designed the Carousel?
The SeaGlass Carousel was a team effort by a New York architecture company called WXY and an artist named George Tsypin. The music you hear while riding was created by Teddy Zambetti, a music expert from SiriusXM. He took famous classical songs by composers like Debussy, Mozart, and Ravel and made them sound modern and fun.
Unique Features of the Ride
When you ride the SeaGlass Carousel, you'll notice that each fish is a real type of fish, like a Siamese fighting fish. The whole design makes you feel like you're underwater, with fish that glow as if they are bioluminescent (meaning they make their own light, like some deep-sea creatures).
This underwater theme connects to the carousel's location right by the water. It also reminds people of Castle Clinton, a nearby building that used to be the New York Aquarium from 1896 to 1941.
One of the coolest things about the SeaGlass Carousel is that its machinery is hidden under the floor. This means there's no big pole in the middle, which is usually found on other carousels. This makes the ride feel even more open and magical. A designer from WXY Architecture even said, "As far as we know, there’s nothing in the world like this."
