Xanadu

News of Aquaria Across the Globe

I've been finding tidbits of news about new aquaria and new additions to old aquaria around the world recently.  Unfortunately, I can't seem to find anything in depth about ANY of them, so I decided to make a single posting with links to some of the soon to be built / soon to be open / recently opened aquaria making news these days.  If you happen to have any info on any of these, or others, please let me know. 

Guadalajara Zoo's New Aquarium in Jalisco, Mexico:  $2.5 million addition to existing zoo with 95 species of fish.  The main attraction is the aquarium's great white shark, previously only temporarily exhibited successfully by the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  No details on the Guadalajara Aquarium's exhibit.

Steinhart Aquarium at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco:  Expansion of existing aquarium adds California Coast exhibits, including 100,000 gallon main tank and the world's deepest coral reef tank at 25 feet deep.  Opens September 27 as part of the new Science Museum which also includes a Living Rainforest, Penguins, and Alligator exhibits, as well as a planetarium and natural history museum.  The Museum complex is another example in the evolution of the science institution as outlined in a previous post.

Xanadu Aquarium at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey:  Controversial aquarium in the works, awaiting approval by the New Jersery Governor, plans to be the second largest aquarium in the U.S., behind the Georgia Aquarium.  Estimated cost: $200 million.  Estimated attendance: 2.5 million annually.

Chiang Mai Zoo's Aquarium in Northern Thailand:  Expected to open in October of this year, the aquarium boasts 8000 individual animals of 250 species.  Nearly 88,000 sf in area, the aquarium will supposedly have the world's longest acrylic tube through a tank (the length is undisclosed).  Approximate cost: $17 million.

The Blue Planet Aquarium in Copenhagen, Denmark:  Danish designers, 3XN, recently won the design competition for the new aquarium which, as far as I can tell, is the newest in the Blue Planet family seen across Europe.  Details are scarce, but design images are not.