|
Mystic Aquarium is an aquarium and oceanography institute in Mystic, Connecticut. It is part of the Sea Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization that also includes JASON Learning and the Ocean Exploration Center. The Aquarium is one of three U.S. facilities holding Steller sea lions and it has one of the largest outdoor Beluga whale exhibits in the United States. Special exhibits include a ray and shark touch pool, a penguin exhibit, and a jelly gallery. The Ocean Exploration Center features maps, diagrams, and models from Dr. Robert Ballard's explorations of the Black Sea and of the wreck of the RMS ''Titanic''. At the Nautilus Live Theater, presentations tell more of Dr. Ballard's more recent explorations and the ship E/V Nautilus. Audience members have a live link to crew members on the ship at sea and can ask them questions directly. The aquarium is a member of the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums (AMMPA) and is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). == History == Mystic Aquarium was first opened in 1973 as a privately owned corporation. Kelvin Smith, the industrialist and philanthropist who was the primary shareholder, chose Mystic, Connecticut as the site because of the area's scenic shoreline and rich maritime history. In 1999, the aquarium and Ballard's Institute for Exploration combined to form a $52 million expansion. The expansion features the ''Arctic Coast,'' a outdoor beluga whale display containing of water.〔 The ''Ocean Exploration Center'' includes new content on the explorations of Dr. Robert Ballard. Including his Nautilus voyages which are seasonally streamed live in the Nautilus Live Theater. The 4D Theater operates year-round, featuring different 3-D movies and a moving theater seats based on the season. The movies include ''Sea Monsters'' and versions of the feature films ''Rio'' and ''Polar Express''. On April 12, 2012 the aquarium opened ''Titanic – 12,450 Feet Below'' to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS ''Titanic''. The exhibit was created by Ballard, who found the ''Titanic'' in 1985, and Tim Delaney, a former Walt Disney Imagineer. It was funded by a $1 million donation from United Technologies Corporation. In 2015 the Titanic exhibit was remodelled into a new exhibit named ''Exploration: Wild'' after Ballard ended his association with the aquarium. The new exhibit, which was designed entirely by aquarium staff and cost $500,000, focuses on conservation and consists of interactive environments highlighting desert, rainforest, the Arctic, wetlands and the open ocean. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|