Seattle Aquarium

Today’s the day! The eagle rays are gliding, the mangrove trees are towering, the clownfish are nestling into anemones—and the Seattle Aquarium's Ocean Pavilion expansion is now open. 🐠 At the Ocean Pavilion, you'll come face to face with 3,500 animals and plants, including rays, sharks, schooling fish, mangroves, nearly 30 species of coral and more. The Ocean Pavilion will also use state-of-the-art, 360-degree, digital displays to tell a story about Earth's one ocean. All waters are connected—from our beloved Salish Sea to the Coral Triangle across the Pacific. At the Ocean Pavilion, we’ll explore how our fate and the ocean’s are connected and how, together, we can make a difference for the ocean we all depend on. This expansion of our campus and our mission has been over a decade in the making, and we can't wait to see everyone experience it for the first time. Prepare to dive in: https://lnkd.in/gRmYaxep 📽️: Devin Muñoz

Our Ocean Pavilion expansion opens in less than a week and our team has been hard at work getting everything ready to go! We've been posting regular updates on our website—here are some you might have missed: • The tale behind this tail ⚪ Can you identify this species that recently moved into the Ocean Pavilion? Here's a hint: He can be *spotted* gliding through The Reef. • You won't "belief" this playscape reef! 🪸 The Coral Reef Encounter at the Ocean Pavilion allows youngsters and families to explore what it might be like to live on a coral reef—discovering the sights, sounds and textures below the surface in a cozy, kid-size tunnel. You can even see what it’s like to be a clownfish, nestled within the tentacles of an anemone, in a colorful, cushioned nook! • Speak of the devil 👀 The elusive devil scorpionfish is a new resident of our closer-look habitat, At Home in the Ocean. Scorpionfish are known for their venomous spines and the canny camouflage that helps them hunt. In the wild, their prey, including invertebrates and small fish, should keep an eye out for these ambush predators. As always, you can stay up to date with our live news feed: https://lnkd.in/giKjiDzT

Chef, author and Seattle Aquarium member J. Kenji López-Alt recently partnered with the Aquarium to map a food-centric day along the Seattle waterfront. Kenji’s itinerary includes several snack stops—and a pause to pet some sea cucumbers at our Life on the Edge habitat. 🗺️ Nothing beats food with a Puget Sound view! Follow along as Kenji makes it a day on the Seattle waterfront: https://lnkd.in/gwVFVKqA When you spend a day on Seattle's waterfront, what are your go-to spots?

Initiative 2117 (I-2117) will be on the ballot this November and we are calling for Washingtonians to vote NO! I-2117 would undo progress made under the Climate Commitment Act (CCA), which helps things like conservation projects, expanded public transit, job creation, and other climate work. For example, without the CCA and the funding it provides, it will be much harder to implement salmon recovery projects in the future. The costs of I-2117 are too big—but we can prevent that outcome. That’s why we need your help. Pledge to vote no on I-2117 and help spread the word: https://lnkd.in/ge-D5yqX

Aquariums are complicated buildings—a lot goes into creating and nurturing a thriving reef ecosystem! We're bringing you along for the process as we prepare to open our Ocean Pavilion expansion later this month with live feed updates: https://lnkd.in/giKjiDzT Catch up on some recent updates below: • Our dive team is going deep for healthy habitats. 🤿 They’ve been cleaning The Reef—the largest habitat in the Ocean Pavilion—each day for weeks, long before any new animals moved in. They'll continue to do so after all the sharks, rays and schooling fish have all settled in. • Water you seeing? It's a fish in The Reef! 🐟 The first fish entered The Reef and have been busy exploring their new space. We introduce animals, like this spotted sweetlips, to new habitats through a carefully-monitored method to ensure their safety. • Who's new in The Reef? 🦈 An Indo-Pacific leopard shark has glided into our largest habitat! Once abundant in the Coral Triangle, these slow-swimming reef sharks are now nearly extinct due to overfishing and habitat loss. As a founding member of the international ReShark collective, we’re working with partners to restore their wild populations to marine protected areas.

Chef and Seattle Aquarium member J. Kenji López-Alt joined us in the prep kitchen! 👨🍳 Kenji spent a day with our aquarists at our offsite Animal Care Center to help prep food for some of the animals that will soon be living at our Ocean Pavilion expansion and to learn about the care we provide for them. Watch the full video now on Kenji’s channel: https://lnkd.in/dkNfUpfC

How do you create a tropical reef ecosystem in downtown Seattle? With a lot of passion, care, and dedication. 🐠 We and our partners spent years planning The Reef—a sweeping, multi-story habitat in the Ocean Pavilion—around the needs of the animals that will live there. And now, animals are moving in according to a plan that prioritizes their wellbeing. Read all about how we went from idea to ecosystem: https://lnkd.in/guHP6Tdp

After years in the making, the Seattle Aquarium’s Ocean Pavilion expansion is opening on August 29! When we began this project, we asked ourselves a key question: How can a technically complex building like an aquarium—which must keep animals healthy 24 hours a day, 365 days a year—model sustainable design? Navigating that answer has spanned years and included architects, regenerative designers, engineers, builders, animal experts and many others! The Ocean Pavilion will: • Operate 100% fossil fuel free. 💭 • Recirculate 96% of the salt water in its habitats—meaning that once water enters the building from Elliott Bay, it remains in the building. ♻ • Recapture heat from the warm-water habitats to warm the building. 💦 • Feature carefully chosen materials, like the Alaskan yellow cedar exterior panels on the building’s west face, which are Forest Stewardship Council-certified and come from an Indigenous-led company. 🌲 • Use large windows to reduce the amount of electricity needed for indoor lights. 😎 • And much more! 🎖 The Ocean Pavilion will serve as a living laboratory dedicated to ocean health. With that in mind, we designed the building to use energy, water and materials efficiently and with care. Learn more about the Ocean Pavilion: https://lnkd.in/gRmYaxep

From going above and beyond to provide the best care for our animals to helping educate visitors, our dedicated animal care staff does it all. Leave some love for them in the comments to celebrate #NationalZookeeperWeek! 👏

In case you missed it, the Seattle Aquarium's Ocean Pavilion expansion is opening on August 29! 🌊 At the Ocean Pavilion, you can journey to the most diverse marine region on Earth without leaving Seattle. You'll come face to face with 3,500 animals and plants, including rays, sharks, schooling fish, mangroves, nearly 30 species of coral and so much more. The Ocean Pavilion will also use state-of-the-art, 360-degree, digital displays to tell a story about Earth’s one ocean. All waters are connected—from our beloved Salish Sea to across the Pacific in the Coral Triangle. At the Ocean Pavilion, we’ll explore how our fate and the ocean’s are connected and how, together, we can make a difference for the ocean we all depend on. Be among the first to experience our new campus expansion as we finish welcoming animals. Plan your visit and learn more about the Ocean Pavilion: https://lnkd.in/gRmYaxep