Oklahoma City Aquarium

O

Okie

Well-Known Member
Last week, Oklahoma City hosted Brownfields 2022, the largest EPA-sponsored conference of the year. Prizes were awarded for environmental revitalization and redevelopment. The grand prize went to OKC’s First American Museum, an entity run by the Chickasaw Nation. During the acceptance speech, the museum's director announced the tribe is partnering with the OKC Zoo to develop a “world-class" aquarium near downtown.

This has been rumored for some time, but it’s great to see it move past quiet discussions. The tribe has added the future aquarium to the map of their land surrounding the museum. This will be a part of a very ambitious site plan which includes a number of high-profile attractions. If you are not from the area, you may be unaware of the Chickasaws impressive track record. I’ll just say that so could not imagine a better partner for the zoo to work with on this project.

This thread may lie dormant while we wait for more public information, but I felt like it needed a separate thread from the zoo.
 
I think that’s a good starting point @Zooplantman. I also think that the MAPS 4 plan would have been on a smaller budget than what they could potentially have with the tribe. We’ll see, but I expect something pretty impressive.
 
I'm surprised that OKC is pursuing an aquarium project and new penguin/pinniped exhibits at the same time. I would've expected, if this aquarium is in the works, they would've chosen to exhibit penguins and pinnipeds at the aquarium, as these are often some common popular species for aquariums. I wonder if these species will be exhibited at both the zoo and aquarium, or omitted from the aquarium altogether. Either way could work, and it'd be interesting to see a large, world-class aquarium be built omitting these species, which are amongst the most common (and most popular) species to see at top aquariums.
 
When I worked out that way, there was a lot of talk of bringing beluga and dolphins to the zoo after re-doing the aquatic area. It wouldn't surprise me if they ended up at the aquarium with the pinnipeds and penguins being at the zoo. Coincidentally the OK Aquarium outside of Tulsa is a very nice aquarium that does well with the only aquatic mammals being otters and beaver
 
Neil chace said:
I'm surprised that OKC is pursuing an aquarium project and new penguin/pinniped exhibits at the same time. I would've expected, if this aquarium is in the works, they would've chosen to exhibit penguins and pinnipeds at the aquarium, as these are often some common popular species for aquariums. I wonder if these species will be exhibited at both the zoo and aquarium, or omitted from the aquarium altogether. Either way could work, and it'd be interesting to see a large, world-class aquarium be built omitting these species, which are amongst the most common (and most popular) species to see at top aquariums.
Click to expand...

Without inside knowledge on this, my guess would be that cold weather penguins will be on display at the aquarium. The exhibit at the zoo is exclusively for a colony of African penguins, so it would not surprise me at all to see penguins at both facilities.
 
PSO said:
When I worked out that way, there was a lot of talk of bringing beluga and dolphins to the zoo after re-doing the aquatic area. It wouldn't surprise me if they ended up at the aquarium with the pinnipeds and penguins being at the zoo. Coincidentally the OK Aquarium outside of Tulsa is a very nice aquarium that does well with the only aquatic mammals being otters and beaver
Click to expand...

You can see my thoughts on the penguins above, but you may be on to something regarding the belugas and the dolphins. The dolphins would be controversial due to past history, but it’s amazing how many social media posts include patrons begging them to bring back the dolphins they remember from decades ago.
 
According to zoo trust minutes, a consultant has been chosen. Negotiations are underway to contract with PGAV on the aquarium’s initial design.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top