After more than 5 years, the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center is reopening its renovated and expanded South Building, chock full of hands-on exhibits.
New outdoor ticketing booths give way to a lobby decorated with blown-glass jellyfish – a perfect accent to the hallways of glowing tanks full of ethereal jellies of all sizes.
You can even pet some of the moon jellies in a new touch tank – but careful, they do sting a little, said senior aquarist Robert Donovan.
The glowing hallways give way to another fresh exhibit highlighting the superpowers of the sea, like color-changing cuttlefish.
Outside, a sprawling new playground is dotted with educational interactives that teach kids about watersheds. There’s also a new elevated viewing platform to get a different angle on the ever-popular river otter enclosure.
One of the largest new parts of the facility is the expanded veterinary care center. A big window offers visitors a view into the exam room.
“All of our resident animals have annual or biannual exams, so that includes a full exam by the veterinarian, blood work, X-rays, ultrasound. That happens in this space so guests will be able to walk up and see that happening,” said chief veterinarian Ally McNaughton.
Curious kids can even press a button to ask McNaughton or any of the other veterinarians a question while they work with the animals. They can also try their own hands at some pretend animal medicine, with machines that let them do ultrasounds and X-rays of their own on stuffed otters, owls and more.
Originally built in 1995, the South Building is connected to the Aquarium's main building via a walking trail through the woods between the two. The South Building closed to the public in 2018 for the renovation work.
The reopening also means the public return of the Aquarium's river otters - a popular attraction who's enclosure also received upgrades.
The South Building will reopen to the general public on Jan. 14.
