Downtown Aquarium (Denver)
Downtown Aquarium | |
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39°45′6″N 105°0′51″W / 39.75167°N 105.01417°W | |
Date opened | June 21, 1999 |
Location | Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
Land area | 17-acre (6.9 ha) |
Floor space | 107,000 square feet (9,900 m2) |
No. of animals | 5,000 |
No. of species | 500 [2] |
Total volume of tanks | 1,000,000 US gallons (3,785,000 L) [1] |
Memberships | AZA[3] |
Website | www |
Downtown Aquarium (formerly Colorado's Ocean Journey) is a
The Downtown Aquarium in Denver is owned and operated by
History
Colorado's Ocean Journey was founded by Bill Fleming and Judy Petersen Fleming as a
The Downtown Aquarium was originally called Ocean Journey. It had two guest experiences: one about the
After the purchase, the facility remained open to the public until the summer of 2005, when it closed briefly for renovations. These included the addition of a full-service restaurant, bar, and ballroom. A 150,000-US-gallon (568,000 L) marine aquarium was added to the restaurant area. Upon its reopening July 14, 2005, the facility was renamed Downtown Aquarium.[4]
On February 14, 2024, a person was shot and killed outside the aquarium.[6][7]
Exhibits
A major theme for this landlocked aquarium is the relationship between inland freshwater ecosystems and the ocean. The original design of the aquarium was zoogeographic. It focused on the path to the ocean taken by two rivers, the Colorado River in North America and the Kampar River in Indonesia. The Colorado River Journey included exhibits of endangered fish, including desert pupfish; gamefish such as bass; and North American river otters, among other species. It ended with a large exhibit depicting the Sea of Cortez, into which the Colorado River empties. The Indonesia River Journey included exhibits of animals such as Asian arowanas, rainbowfish, and endangered Sumatran tigers. It ended with a large exhibit depicting the southern Pacific Ocean. In addition to these two journeys, the aquarium housed a large sea otter exhibit.[8]
After the 2005 renovations, the two journey paths remain, but are no longer arranged in a strictly zoogeographic pattern. Tanks have been added that house species from African and South American freshwater ecosystems. Other tanks are mixed community aquariums.
The facility features several interactive exhibits, including a horseshoe crab touch tank and a stingray touch-and-feed tank.
The aquarium continues to focus on
Education
A
References
- ^ "Landry's Downtown Aquarium - Denver, Colorado". city-data.com. City-Data. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
- ^ "Visitor Info". aquariumrestaurants.com. Landry's Restaurants, Inc. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
- ^ "List of Accredited Zoos and Aquariums". aza.org. Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ^ a b "Downtown Aquarium". landrysrestaurants.com. Landry's Restaurants, Inc. Archived from the original on 13 April 2005. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
- ^ "Landry's Restaurants, Inc. Acquires Denver's Ocean Journey". landrysrestaurants.com. Landry's Restaurants, Inc. Archived from the original on 9 March 2005. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
- ^ Jarpe, Samantha (February 14, 2024). "Man dies in shooting outside of Denver aquarium". KDVR. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
- ^ Langford, Katie (February 14, 2024). "Man dies following drive-by shooting outside Denver's Downtown Aquarium". Denver Post. Retrieved February 15, 2024.,
- ^ Walter, Claire (September 1999). "Passages to the sea - the Ocean Journey aquarium in Denver, Colorado". Sunset. Home and Garden Publications. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
External links
- Media related to Downtown Aquarium (Denver) at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website