Aquarium of Boise Idaho Aquarium Review

Ituri

Ituri

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
The Idaho Aquarium opened in November, 2011 in Boise Idaho. The facility is in a 10,000 square foot retail space located near the city’s major shopping mall. The owners and developers of the Idaho Aquarium announced their intention to build an aquarium back in 2007. Much press was put out regarding this announcement, and expectations were high. After several false starts, the aquarium did finally open a very modest facility, quite a bit smaller than had been previously discussed. This is a very home-made aquarium.
This facility is filled with good intentions. The owners truly do wish to bring the wonders of the world’s oceans to the landlocked people of Boise. The aquarium is filled with innovative ideas including a tropical fish tank that offers guest feeding. In fact, interactivity is one of the goals of this aquarium as there are numerous touch tanks and feeding opportunities. This however could be very problematic as it seems there is very little guest supervision. I also wonder about the suitability to touching for many of the species, such as giant clams.
There are numerous small tanks built into the walls displaying a variety of ocean life. Highlights include seahorses, moon jellies, brightly colored cuttlefish, and garden eels. Also present is an interesting display of live mangroves. A large, floor to ceiling aviary at the end displays, somewhat strangely, a small mixed flock of rainbow lorikeets and yellow-bibbed lories. Another odd addition is the inclusion of several terrestrial reptiles and amphibians including panther chameleon, green iguana, and poison-dart frogs. A disappointingly small and brightly lit giant Pacific octopus exhibit is also to be found. Short range-plans include the addition of a caiman exhibit (species unknown). Longer range plans have them adding puffins, sea turtles, a large shark tank, and harbor seals. We shall wait and see regarding that particular wish-list.
In conclusion, this facility left me with mixed feelings. I admire what they are trying to do, and support the idea of the Boise area having a small aquarium attraction. I do, however, feel that the aquarium management would benefit from some additional guidance in developing the facility further.
 
Ituri said:
In conclusion, this facility left me with mixed feelings. I admire what they are trying to do, and support the idea of the Boise area having a small aquarium attraction. I do, however, feel that the aquarium management would benefit from some additional guidance in developing the facility further.
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I totally agree with this closing statement. What I got from the photos was a real sense of sterility and lack of imagination. Lots of blank walls with small tanks set in them, or worse just sitting free-standing in front of them (as with the poison arrow frog tanks). I noticed from their website that their tanks collectively contain 15,000 gallons of saltwater, which is less than just one of the tanks where I currently work which is a very small Aquarium itself. I don't like to put them down because they obviously have the best of intentions and the last thing you want when setting up a new venture is lots of negative criticism from us zoo-nerds with overblown ideas of what an Aquarium should be, but I think they are letting themselves down by starting out in such a low-budget way. However, reading through their Facebook page they do seem to be well-received by the locals, with lots of good comments. I think if there are no other Aquariums nearby and you go in without grand expectations (as some people do) then it's probably a very good addition to the area.
 
Thanks for the review Ituri and Chlidonias for a very constructive follow-up.

From your review and photos it looks like they do have some really good intentions and at least some good execution. The mangrove exhibit looks unique and the flamboyant cuttlefish tank looks pretty good. The octopus tank looks really bad.

@Ituri: Do you know if they do have a mentor institution like maybe the Seattle or Vancouver Aquariums (would those be the closest places?)? Is the aquarium being well received with public support, moral and financial?

Do you think that they really will get the seal and puffin exhibits built in the foreseeable future?
 
seal and puffin exhibits are going to be very expensive, with the filtration and everything. The shark tank too will cost quite a lot. If they had raised more money from the outset (I know, easier said than done) and had the big shark tank upon opening I'm pretty sure that would have ensured more visitors, making growth a lot more feasible.

Looking at the photos the overwhelming thought that comes into my head is that it looks not like a public aquarium but rather a teaching aid for a university or school. Like classrooms with a few tanks added along the walls.

I do wish the organisation all the best though.
 
Idaho Aquarium - One Year Later

The Idaho Aquarium has recently celebrated its first anniversary. I figured it was due time for an updated review.

The home-made feel that reigns in this facility is still very strong, with many enclosures still consisting of free-standing "in home" style aquariums and terrariums.

Doing an organized review of this place is challenging, because chaos permeates the ethos of this facility. Tank placement seems haphazard with little thought to any overlying organization.

In my review I mentioned an upcoming caiman exhibit. Apparently, Dwarf Caimans were acquired for this exhibit, but they didn't possess the proper permits for this species and they had to send them elsewhere. This enclosure is now occupied by the rather bizarre mixture of Panther Chameleon, Caiman Lizard, Green Iguana, Tiger Salamander, and Fly River Turtle. I did have it pointed out to me by a ZooChatter that there is most likely a canal somewhere in South Florida with that exact mix. That aside, it's still a very strange enclosure.

A couple of high-profile enclosures have opened though, one featuring four Horned Puffins sent from the Alaska Sealife Center. The other features a rescued Green Sea Turtle from the MOTE Aquarium. This tank also features some lemon sharks which, though still young are quite a bit larger than the sharks in the touch tank.

They are expanding yet again, and are currently raising funds for a North American River Otter exhibit and a large Amazon freshwater tank for Arapaima and the like.

One year later and I'm no less conflicted. I support the concept of having an aquarium in the area, and their intentions are clearly good, but their execution is still a bit rough.
 
and again I agree with your closing statement. Looking through the photos is almost depressing. Most of them look like you just took a photo of a fish tank in the corner of an office or living room, rather than in a public aquarium. It's almost as if they are deliberately going for the low-budget look to reinforce that they are a low-budget organisation (if you see what I mean).

I do think what they are doing is great, and yet I am disappointed in how they are doing it. The puffin and sea turtle tanks are a good step though.
 
I did fail to mention a couple concerns I still have with this place. First there are many touch tanks throughout the facility and none of them are monitored by staff or volunteers. This is a very simple fix. Second they are without a proper wash station and guests are asked to go wash their hands in the quite small restrooms before sticking their hands in the touch pools. This is a more challenging fix but certainly something to be addressed.
 
Chlidonias said:
It's almost as if they are deliberately going for the low-budget look to reinforce that they are a low-budget organisation (if you see what I mean).
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Is the aquarium on a low budget though? In my opinion, the facility has only been open a year and I'm sure they're still trying to iron out the creases - it does look quite underwhelming. You can make things look good on a low budget, but it isn't easy.

It seems to me that [I like to think] they're displaying the animals in any old cheap-looking, haphazard way just to get them on-show so that people will come and pay to see them. Hopefully the aquarium can get a steady boost in visitor numbers and funds, which will be in direct correlation with improving the aquarium.

I will also add that I'm amazed you're shocked by the concept of the reptiles and amphibians, they seem to be a common thing over here in a 'rainforest' section of the aquarium.
 
Javan Rhino said:
I will also add that I'm amazed you're shocked by the concept of the reptiles and amphibians, they seem to be a common thing over here in a 'rainforest' section of the aquarium.
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where was I shocked by reptiles and amphibians? :confused:
 
Chlidonias said:
where was I shocked by reptiles and amphibians? :confused:
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Sorry Chlidonias - I was refering to Ituri's opening post with that statement, but forgot to quote:

Another odd addition is the inclusion of several terrestrial reptiles and amphibians including panther chameleon, green iguana, and poison-dart frogs.
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I was not shocked by the presence of amphibians and reptiles, just by the particular mix in that one exhibit.

They are indeed underfunded and unfortunately it doesn't seem to me that they spend the money in the right places. But really, who am I to judge. The facility has proven quite popular with regular expansion and a rather loyal fan base. I just hope they figure out how to reduce the visual clutter that permeates the space and that a few of the husbandry concerns get addressed.
 
Ituri said:
I was not shocked by the presence of amphibians and reptiles, just by the particular mix in that one exhibit.

They are indeed underfunded and unfortunately it doesn't seem to me that they spend the money in the right places. But really, who am I to judge. The facility has proven quite popular with regular expansion and a rather loyal fan base. I just hope they figure out how to reduce the visual clutter that permeates the space and that a few of the husbandry concerns get addressed.
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That makes more sense, sorry if I misinterpreted your post :)

I'd never heard of this collection until this morning, and looking through the photographs it does look odd in places - trouble is aquariums aren't cheap, and any sort of decent home aquarium tank is £500-£1,000 to set up out of the budget. I know they have more money than this, but sometimes it makes more sense to get your animals on-show in the cheapest acceptable accommodation. More visitors will be more interested in any ten freestanding aquarium tanks/vivariums that are haphazardly placed than they would in one well done tank that looks like it's meant to be there.

I personally don't think they look tidy in a public collection, but as a temporary solution then it does make sense :)
 
Ituri said:
I was not shocked by the presence of amphibians and reptiles, just by the particular mix in that one exhibit.

They are indeed underfunded and unfortunately it doesn't seem to me that they spend the money in the right places. But really, who am I to judge. The facility has proven quite popular with regular expansion and a rather loyal fan base. I just hope they figure out how to reduce the visual clutter that permeates the space and that a few of the husbandry concerns get addressed.
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Small, home-made, cheap and amateur are four adjectives that could be used to describe Idaho Aquarium based on comments and photos in the ZooChat gallery. However, a few of the exhibits appear to be nice and the sea turtle and puffins are surprising additions. Is it true that the brand-new Portland Aquarium (which opened this month) is a similar venture with the same family owning both facilities? Portland Aquarium is based in an old restaurant and so I'm not sure if it will be much more impressive than Idaho Aquarium.
 
The Portland Aquarium is owned by the brother of the owner of the Idaho Aquarium. I would expect that facility to bear an enormous resemblance to the Idaho Aquarium.
 
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