Mystic Aquarium opens 'weird' new exhibit Saturday
Mystic — A fish that lives mostly on land, one that can swallow prey larger than itself and tiny eels that resemble blades of grass as they pop straight up out of their sand-and-slime burrows.
Not to mention biofluorescent fish and corals, spider crabs that can grow up to 13 feet across and a Pacific octopus.
They are all part of “Weird & Wonderful,” a new $500,000 exhibit that opens Saturday at Mystic Aquarium.
The exhibit, which is designed to “showcase some of some of nature’s most bizarre and fascinating creatures” encompasses 1,000 square feet of renovated space in the main aquarium.
Colorful, playful graphics, interactive tablets, and a 10-foot-tall video wall in which strange sea creatures swim out at visitors through cascading water, are all part of the exhibit that took six months to construct but was discussed for the past five years, according to Katie Cubina, the aquarium’s senior vice president for mission programs.
The aquarium opened a new frog exhibit last Memorial Day weekend and plans are underway to open a major Long Island Sound exhibit on Memorial Day weekend of 2018, according to Cubina. Along with the upcoming construction of a new research and education building, the new exhibits are part of aquarium’s larger plan to spend $25 million to $50 million to update the institution over the next decade.
Cubina said the exhibit is a way to showcase these animals in a unique way, allowing people to make a connection with them and understand the need to protect the oceans where they live.
“We also want to do something fun, not just for our younger visitors but for everyone,” she added.
During an unveiling of the exhibit Tuesday, Larry Rivarde, the aquarium’s senior vice president of zoological operations, said more animals will be added to the exhibits, new species introduced and those there now will grow over the next few months.
“If you think its is 'Weird and Wonderful' now, it will get kicked up a notch when you come back,” he said.
Aquarium President Steve Coan told those gathered at the aquarium that the exhibit ties in with the institution’s mission to protect the world’s oceans through education, conservation and research. He said that each fish and invertebrate in the aquarium’s collection promotes that mission.
George Milne Jr., chairman of the aquarium’s board of trustees, said the new exhibit is part of an overall plan not just to renovate the main aquarium, but the entire campus.
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