When you visit an aquarium, what are the moments that stick out to you? Hunting for the elusive octopus? Seeing all the beautiful tropical tanks? How about that shark that comes up so close to the glass that for a split second you might think he’s got you tagged for lunch? But what if you could get closer? 

Coming from a guy who loves tropical fish and aquariums, no really, I had like seven tanks set up throughout my parents house at one point it was crazy. I find that the Vancouver Aquarium is one of my favorite places to go, just don’t look at the entrance fee. 

Recently, the Vancouver Park Board unanimously endorsed a new proposal that would build a new underwater walk-through tunnel in the seal and sea lion habitat. 

Now, the best aquarium that I ever went to was the sea life attraction in Sydney Australia. And they have at least a half dozen of these tunnels, and they were by far my favorite part of the entire experience . You could look in one direction and see a massive shark coming towards you, look in another direction to see a small group of manta rays scaling the glass arch and how funny their mouths look. Adding one of these to the BC wild coast section of the Vancouver Aquarium would become a focal point of the completely reconstruct exhibit.  

Furthermore, another driving factor to build the tunnel isn’t just the cool factor, but that it will cut 50% of total water volume by adding the tunnel and reducing the number of pools from four to three.  

So outside of it being something new, what makes it important? Well, if you think seals, sea lions, or otters are cute, this will help with the ongoing success of the aquariums Marine Mammal Rescue Program. This in tandem with cutting the amount of water needed to run the pools by half is an environmentally friendly choice, especially as BC summer droughts continue to get more extreme. 

If you’re worried about tax payer dollars going into the project, the plan is to have it be completely covered by the aquariums parent company. And they plan on moving fast, with construction targeted to start in September of this year. Just after the summer rush has concluded. 

The Vancouver Aquarium’s 70th year in operation is looking to be a big one.