Aquariums

Public Aquariums

As interest in home aquariums grew in the 1800s, large public aquariums were opened in the Gardens in Boston, Massachusetts, Germany, Austria, and elsewhere. Public exhibitions of the watery world of lakes, rivers, and oceans generated enormous interest. Many of these original aquariums, as well as some operating today, were built as places of entertainment for the public and as commercial enterprises for their owners. There are now several hundred great public aquariums around the world. Most, such as the Georgia Aquarium (Atlanta) and the Long Beach Aquarium (California), are places of entertainment, education, and research. They require millions of dollars to build and to maintain. They are usually a cooperative effort between foundations, civic boosters, state and local governments, universities, schools systems, and marine or aquatic research bodies.

Some of the great aquariums are organized around a theme. The Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Osaka (Japan) Kaiyukan Aquarium are focused on Pacific Ocean creatures and plants. Both have been built on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. The Monterey Bay Aquarium pumps in ocean water from the Pacific and circulates it through their display tanks in order to keep the water chemistry and the environment as natural as possible. The water is filtered in the daytime to remove impurities, so aquarium patrons can clearly see the octopus, sharks, stingrays, sea otters, aquatic plants, and fish. At night they use unfiltered seawater to nourish the exhibits in a manner similar to the wild. Other public aquariums have been built around a different theme. The Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga is a freshwater aquarium, organized around the theme of aquatic creatures in the Tennessee River. As patrons walk down a four-story ramp, they pass exhibits that trace the course of the Tennessee River from its origin high in the Appalachian Mountains until it meets the Gulf of Mexico, where its saltwater exhibits are displayed.

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