This is an attempt to list every species on exhibit as well as describe every exhibit at OdySea Aquarium in Scottsdale, Arizona during my visit on 12-5-16. I am arranging the list by the current visitor map by the named zones as they are encountered along its primarily one-way route. I am including species for which there is a sign on each exhibit; as is usual for aquariums, not every species is signed, especially in the largest tanks. This is not intended to be a full account of the collection. Also, species on exhibit are sometimes moved, so some that were there one day may have disappeared from public view the next. All exhibits are indoors. Almost all the exhibits have titles above their species identification signs and the visitor map, so I will refer to them here within quotation marks. I will post each zone in a separate reply in the thread for clarity.
This major aquarium opened recently in September 2016 and is part of a larger development called OdySea In The Desert. The new development includes Butterfly Wonderland (opened in May 2013 and listed separately in another of my threads), OdySea Mirror Maze (opened May 2013), an outdoor 2-level mall of small shops and restaurants (slowly finding and opening tenants and most are not major chains/franchises), and Dolphinaris (opened October 2015, a swim-with dolphins experience that is adjacent to but operated separately from the aquarium and I did not enter). The modern buildings that compose the development are arranged in a roughly circular pattern around a a central gathering space, and the masterplan for the complex shows the possibility of more buildings being added on the perimeter as well as a large ferris wheel ride. The complex is located in the desert but adjacent to a major freeway.
The aquarium itself has been criticized online for having its grand opening before it was ready, but most issues of water quality and exhibit stocking had been remedied by the time of my visit and it was blissfully uncrowded in early December. It was enjoyable and worth a visit; I rank it at #15 of the 54 aquarium facilities I have visited.
ENTRANCE: (9 Exhibits)
The 2-story lobby space is entered after visitors purchase tickets from the ticket window outside the aquarium. The lobby is a half-round shape and has a green-screen area for professional photo taking (for purchase), ticket-taking stands, a concierge desk, and an elevator and escalator up to the second level for the primarily one-way visitor path. Also, a short hallway leads to restrooms, both of which feature a viewing window above the sinks that looks into the "Shark Waters" exhibit in the "Living Sea Carousel" zone described later (I am not counting this as an exhibit in this zone). The lobby is modern and dimly lit, with large photo-realistic graphics of fish and penguins and a whale on the walls, and the following exhibits:
"Aqua Lobby", 9 small-sized globe tanks suspended from the tall ceiling above the lobby:
Unsigned and unidentified, website mentions Lake Malawi Cichlid
This major aquarium opened recently in September 2016 and is part of a larger development called OdySea In The Desert. The new development includes Butterfly Wonderland (opened in May 2013 and listed separately in another of my threads), OdySea Mirror Maze (opened May 2013), an outdoor 2-level mall of small shops and restaurants (slowly finding and opening tenants and most are not major chains/franchises), and Dolphinaris (opened October 2015, a swim-with dolphins experience that is adjacent to but operated separately from the aquarium and I did not enter). The modern buildings that compose the development are arranged in a roughly circular pattern around a a central gathering space, and the masterplan for the complex shows the possibility of more buildings being added on the perimeter as well as a large ferris wheel ride. The complex is located in the desert but adjacent to a major freeway.
The aquarium itself has been criticized online for having its grand opening before it was ready, but most issues of water quality and exhibit stocking had been remedied by the time of my visit and it was blissfully uncrowded in early December. It was enjoyable and worth a visit; I rank it at #15 of the 54 aquarium facilities I have visited.
ENTRANCE: (9 Exhibits)
The 2-story lobby space is entered after visitors purchase tickets from the ticket window outside the aquarium. The lobby is a half-round shape and has a green-screen area for professional photo taking (for purchase), ticket-taking stands, a concierge desk, and an elevator and escalator up to the second level for the primarily one-way visitor path. Also, a short hallway leads to restrooms, both of which feature a viewing window above the sinks that looks into the "Shark Waters" exhibit in the "Living Sea Carousel" zone described later (I am not counting this as an exhibit in this zone). The lobby is modern and dimly lit, with large photo-realistic graphics of fish and penguins and a whale on the walls, and the following exhibits:
"Aqua Lobby", 9 small-sized globe tanks suspended from the tall ceiling above the lobby:
Unsigned and unidentified, website mentions Lake Malawi Cichlid
