Whenfrilledsharks
Well-Known Member
oh ok…
Marine Life Park S.E.A. Aquarium to reopen as "Singapore Oceanarium"
oh ok…
Jdog
Member
Hey all, I grew up in Singapore and I'm really happy to discover this rennovation from this thread before I visit this week.
S.E.A. Aquarium has always been a weird one to me. Singapore has a knack for being overcrowded and quite pretentious. This aquarium was always great quality but felt a bit too small.
I'm a little worried that despite being "three times larger" a lot of areas seem to be odd digital art exhibits.
Thanks WhistlingKite24 for sharing the video. Does anyone know more explicitly which bits are new and just generally if it's worth revisiting?
S.E.A. Aquarium has always been a weird one to me. Singapore has a knack for being overcrowded and quite pretentious. This aquarium was always great quality but felt a bit too small.
I'm a little worried that despite being "three times larger" a lot of areas seem to be odd digital art exhibits.
Thanks WhistlingKite24 for sharing the video. Does anyone know more explicitly which bits are new and just generally if it's worth revisiting?
Whenfrilledsharks
Well-Known Member
I believe that it is worth visiting. You really get to see breathtaking exhibit designs. And when the crowd is small, you get a whole new view and serene to view each exhibits. Each exhibits has it's own surprises. But you will overall learn more while enjoy looking at the world/s largest moon jelly tank, deep sea creatures you will need to spend alot to travel and view, a cleaner shrimp session, singapore reefs in the best perspecive, all in the comfort of air-con and our home country. I personally say, yes is worth it to not just visit, but dedicate your entire day there. From opening to closing hours.
Based on 2 visits to the new site, and with some comparisons with before the renovation, I personally would say it is a mix bag. The brand new exhibits are nothing short of stunning, with the sea jelly and whale fall zones taking the crown as the two best additions. The other new sections, which are Singapore's Coast, Ancient waters and Conquering land, are just okay for me. There are a couple of new species that are now on display in the facility, but for many of the smaller tanks that remain from the original layout, it is quite noticeable that there has been a decrease in species. I would say besides the newer parts of the oceanarium, the rest of the facility is very "normal large aquarium". In addition, as of now, the Arapaima tank is not ready, and the Japanese Giant Salamander exhibit is still empty. Especially on weekends, the place can really get crowded, with weekday attendance only being slightly better. It is not exactly a very big space even with the new stuff, and I finished my day there within 4-5 hours.
From what I am able to gather, "Quirky adaptations" has since been renamed "reef animals" and it mainly consists of seahorse/seadragon, lionfish and blue-spotted stingray. "Underwater city" has been renamed "Coral gardens" and seem to have remained the same overall. "School of fish" is roughly the same and has been renamed as "Benthos", just being the third last area of the oceanarium as being one of the first. It still has the large circular tank, Old wife, and Tasmanian giant crab. Some of the other small tanks there have been reworked and the touch pool has since been expanded and shifted to the new "Singapore's Coast". Lastly, "Ocean diversity" seems to be a combination of parts of "Benthos" and "Horizontal migrators. the collection there seem to have decreased.
Jdog
Member
Went today, It's the first time I've ever been there where it's not been an awful and crowded experience. I'm not sure there are any less people than usual, but the size of the newer rooms seems to lend itself to people spreading out a bit more.
The new spaces are kind of crazy, just the setting of the Whalefall and Prehistoric zone were impressive.
This was at 10:30, 30 mins after opening
imgur.com
The new spaces are kind of crazy, just the setting of the Whalefall and Prehistoric zone were impressive.
This was at 10:30, 30 mins after opening
imgur.com
Jdog
Member
It's currently half-term for most of the schools so I was really expecting it to be worse.
I do it in every aquarium, but I'd recommend go in at opening, just walk straight past the first 5/6 zones so you are a good distance ahead of everyone and then you can basically take your time and then go back through the start later.
I do it in every aquarium, but I'd recommend go in at opening, just walk straight past the first 5/6 zones so you are a good distance ahead of everyone and then you can basically take your time and then go back through the start later.
Yes, I think I might skip the 'Ancient Waters' and 'Singapores Coast' at first and go back to those sections later.
Is it possible to start and the end and make my way back from there?
Jdog
Member
You can get a re-entry stamp at the end and go back in from the start. That's what I did
