Dalhousie University to open public Marine Science Centre this Fall

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

Expected to open this Fall, the Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is opening the "Beaty Centre for Marine Biodiversity". With a mixture of both live and digital exhibits, its main goal is to exhibit and educate about species that are native to Nova Scotia and the surrounding areas that many people are unaware of.
I never heard of this project before, even though it's been brewing for a couple of years now, until someone sent me a news report about it recently. Looking more into it, this is shaping up to be a pretty awesome little public aquarium / science centre that they're creating. I don't think they've announced whether it'll be free or not, though I could see them charging a small entry fee.
Some of the highlights I could find are:

• 10 to 12 exhibit tanks (including 3 or 4 large tanks, the rest are going to be on the smaller side)
• A life-size, real Blue Whale skeleton that was put together from a washed-up Blue Whale
• A lineup of really rare, native/local species that other aquariums don't have

Some of the species they've mentioned that will be on exhibit include:

• North Atlantic Deep-sea Octopus (Bathypolypus arcticus) (The species itself was never confirmed, since they just refer to it as "Deep-sea Octopus", but this was the closest match I could find with the content they've shown of their female)
• Sea Ravens (Hemitripterus americanus) (All of the color varieties)
• Green Crabs and Burrowing Anemones (Meant to educate about invasive species, like these 2)
• North Atlantic Whitefish (Coregonus huntsmani) (they have the largest population of the species in the world, since the wild population is so small)
• Lined Seahorses (Hippocampus erectus) (Apparently, they've been appearing in the Nova Scotia water's for a few years in increasing numbers)
• Northern Pipefish (Syngnathus fuscus)
• "various other Sea Stars, Sea Cucumbers, Fish, and Invertebrates"

It doesn't seem like it'll be a very large space, but it's always awesome to see places, especially colleges/universities, set up places like this that focus on the native/local waters. Some of these species sound really intriguing, I'm really interested in that North Atlantic Octopus to be specific. Will be looking forward to seeing what the final look is.

News Pieces:
Dalhousie’s Aquatron readies marine species for new on‑campus science centre - Dal News - Dalhousie University

Aquarium facility slated to open in Halifax this fall

Meet the marine life at Halifax's first aquarium

 

[doggoswoofwoof]

I was born in Halifax and let me tell you people here have been asking for an aquarium for decades! It's small but it's definitely a start!!