Hello Zoochatters, I am back once again yet with another facility review and species list. This is the last of the review/species list threads that I will be posting regarding the (AZA-accredited) zoos and aquariums of Virginia of which I visited on my Virginia Beach trip.
As with my previous thread, I will give a brief overview and review of each exhibit, along with the species present. Latin names are provided for your convenience. Anything noteworthy regarding animal visibility or exhibit status will also be noted.
Lastly, if an animal is signed, but not seen, I will simply mark it as not seen. I will only mark an animal as "off-exhibit" as opposed to not seen if I either get confirmation the animal is actually off-exhibit (such as a sign or from a keeper) or can be certain the exhibit is unoccupied.
I have also compiled a species list in the form of an iNaturalist list which you can view here -> [VISIT] Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center Species List - 2023/09/21
Before we get started, the caveat I alluded to in the thread title is that the aquarium's South Building (formerly the Marsh Pavilion) is STILL closed as of this writing. The building closed in 2018 (!) for renovations and has experienced multiple delays. The aquarium does post progress updates, with the latest one being on 09/12/2023, a week and 2 days prior to my visit.
As a result, this review and species list will only cover the North Building (formerly the Bay and Ocean Pavilion). The only other species list posted for this facility was back in 2018, prior to the South Building closing. @ZooBinh created the list which you can see here -> https://www.zoochat.com/community/threads/species-list-5-31-18.470714/. Some of the animals listed as being exhibited at the South Building were on display at the North Building; I will elaborate later.
Astrotom3000's Virginia Venture - Part 3
This thread will cover the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center in Virginia Beach, VA. This is the last of the 3 VA facilities that I visited during my Virginia Beach trip and is my 34th zoological facility overall. My date of visit was September 21, 2023. I also visited the Virginia Living and the Virginia Zoological Park, both of which I have already posted threads on.
Overview
The Virginia Aquarium is a mid-sized aquarium located in Virginia Beach, VA. The aquarium is situated right on Owls Creek, just down the road from Oceana Naval Air Station. The aquarium is notable for consisting of 2 separate buildings connected by 1/3 mile nature trail that runs alongside the Owls Creek salt marsh. This trail contains plenty of places to observe native wildlife, including a large observation tower that you can ascend.
The North Building, formerly known as the Bay and Ocean Pavilion and the larger and more elaborate of the 2 (and also the only one open), features a variety of exhibits on Virginia's aquatic ecosystems, as well as a large exhibit on exotic wildlife. The South Building, formerly known as the Marsh Pavilion, is undergoing renovations and was closed at this time.
The North Building contains an exhibit loop that is roughly themed to the journey of a Virginia river that starts in the uploads and eventually flows through the coastal plain, the marshes, Chesapeake Bay, and eventually into the ocean. There is also a large exhibit dedicated to exotic animals that is themed around environments that once existed in Virginia. The loop begins just after the admissions desk and ends at the Gift shop.
The aquarium also notably contains an exhibit for Harbor Seals just outside the entrance. You can view these without having to pay admission, although you do need to pay to park at the aquarium's parking lots.
Additionally, the Aquarium also offers boat tours for observing dolphins and other wildlife right off the coast of Virginia Beach. 2 different tours are offered, in different craft and different lengths. Their Atlantic Scout tour lasts 60 minutes and uses a smaller and more mobile craft. The Atlantic Explorer tour features a larger boat with a snack bar and restroom, and lasts 90 minutes. I took part in the latter.
Overall, the Virginia Aquarium is a very solid and quality facility that does a great job showcasing Virginia's aquatic ecology, while maintaining a coherent theme throughout. Both the collection and exhibitry are very good as well; the Restless Planet exhibit in particular stands out not just for having an exotic collection, but also featuring a theme that ties it to Virginia's geologic past. Even the native exhibits are very well done. The aquarium's location and features also make it an excellent place to observe native wildlife. With all of this, the aquarium provides plenty to do and allows for an enriching and varied experience.
So with all that praise, you may be wondering: why did I rank this facility so low in my US Zoo rankings (see here -> https://www.zoochat.com/community/t...-you-have-visited.157699/page-18#post-1491902 where I currently rank it at 20/25 of facilities I visited, excluding facilities I visited as a kid)?
Two words: guest experience. The aquarium is currently requiring advanced reservations to visit. While I wish facilities that still do this would start moving away from it, that's not an automatic deal breaker in my opinion. It does make it harder to plan trips, and the no-refunds policy means you're usually out of luck if something comes up (my trip came very close to be bulldozed by Hurricane Lee had it not stayed offshore).
The real deal breaker is that you can only go through the exhibit loop ONCE per ticket purchase. Once you leave the exhibit loop, that's it. There is no re-entry under normal circumstances. Apparently, their current standard procedure is to only allow you to enter the exhibit loop once per ticket. This was confirmed by the admissions folks.
Now, keep in mind that I said "exhibit loop" and not "aquarium/facility". If you look at the aquarium map here -> https://www.virginiaaquarium.com/assets/Documents/PlanVisit/VisitorMap_Sept21_Web.pdf, you will see where the exhibit loop starts and ends by the "Start Here" and "Exit Here" labels. Once you leave that loop, you cannot reenter with the same ticket. Notice how their cafe and one of the restrooms is located outside the loop? The restroom inside the loop is placed near the end, requiring long treks to and back if nature calls at the wrong time.
This is complete and utter horse crap. I am the kind of person that loves spending all day at these facilities and traversing exhibits multiple times to get more opportunities to see and photograph animals (something that became especially helpful on my Virginia Zoo visit), and this policy is IMO a huge inconvenience that removes a lot of the freedom guests usually enjoy visiting these places.
Granted, they did allow me to go through the exhibits a 2nd time when I asked after I had lunch at their cafe midday and then did the boat tour, since it was a slow day. But the fact that this is their standard procedure still rubs me the wrong way. I sincerely hope this is just a temporary measure to control crowds while they wait for the South Building to finally reopen.
Also, the exhibit loop is fully enclosed despite it being apparent that the aquarium was not designed with this in mind since they barricaded off paths you could take to "skip ahead" or "skip back" to the beginning. Look at the map I linked above; notice the "shortcut" between the "Chesapeake Bay Exhibits" and the "Touch Tank" just after the "Chesapeake Bay" tank? That is barricaded so you cannot skip back to the beginning from there after passing the touch tank. Also, if you look at the nature trail map at the bottom, the "Scenic Overlook" and the rest of the trail appear to be separate. They are actually connected, but again are barricaded off so that they can enforce the "one trip through exhibit loop only" policy. Ughh.
Sorry for the long rant. I really like this facility and had a great time. But it just bugs me that they have such a policy in place when similar facilities, like the Tennessee Aquarium or even SeaLife Charlotte-Concord, do not. Everything else is great despite that. Regardless, let's dig in.
As with my previous thread, I will give a brief overview and review of each exhibit, along with the species present. Latin names are provided for your convenience. Anything noteworthy regarding animal visibility or exhibit status will also be noted.
Lastly, if an animal is signed, but not seen, I will simply mark it as not seen. I will only mark an animal as "off-exhibit" as opposed to not seen if I either get confirmation the animal is actually off-exhibit (such as a sign or from a keeper) or can be certain the exhibit is unoccupied.
I have also compiled a species list in the form of an iNaturalist list which you can view here -> [VISIT] Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center Species List - 2023/09/21
Before we get started, the caveat I alluded to in the thread title is that the aquarium's South Building (formerly the Marsh Pavilion) is STILL closed as of this writing. The building closed in 2018 (!) for renovations and has experienced multiple delays. The aquarium does post progress updates, with the latest one being on 09/12/2023, a week and 2 days prior to my visit.
As a result, this review and species list will only cover the North Building (formerly the Bay and Ocean Pavilion). The only other species list posted for this facility was back in 2018, prior to the South Building closing. @ZooBinh created the list which you can see here -> https://www.zoochat.com/community/threads/species-list-5-31-18.470714/. Some of the animals listed as being exhibited at the South Building were on display at the North Building; I will elaborate later.
Astrotom3000's Virginia Venture - Part 3
This thread will cover the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center in Virginia Beach, VA. This is the last of the 3 VA facilities that I visited during my Virginia Beach trip and is my 34th zoological facility overall. My date of visit was September 21, 2023. I also visited the Virginia Living and the Virginia Zoological Park, both of which I have already posted threads on.
Overview
The Virginia Aquarium is a mid-sized aquarium located in Virginia Beach, VA. The aquarium is situated right on Owls Creek, just down the road from Oceana Naval Air Station. The aquarium is notable for consisting of 2 separate buildings connected by 1/3 mile nature trail that runs alongside the Owls Creek salt marsh. This trail contains plenty of places to observe native wildlife, including a large observation tower that you can ascend.
The North Building, formerly known as the Bay and Ocean Pavilion and the larger and more elaborate of the 2 (and also the only one open), features a variety of exhibits on Virginia's aquatic ecosystems, as well as a large exhibit on exotic wildlife. The South Building, formerly known as the Marsh Pavilion, is undergoing renovations and was closed at this time.
The North Building contains an exhibit loop that is roughly themed to the journey of a Virginia river that starts in the uploads and eventually flows through the coastal plain, the marshes, Chesapeake Bay, and eventually into the ocean. There is also a large exhibit dedicated to exotic animals that is themed around environments that once existed in Virginia. The loop begins just after the admissions desk and ends at the Gift shop.
The aquarium also notably contains an exhibit for Harbor Seals just outside the entrance. You can view these without having to pay admission, although you do need to pay to park at the aquarium's parking lots.
Additionally, the Aquarium also offers boat tours for observing dolphins and other wildlife right off the coast of Virginia Beach. 2 different tours are offered, in different craft and different lengths. Their Atlantic Scout tour lasts 60 minutes and uses a smaller and more mobile craft. The Atlantic Explorer tour features a larger boat with a snack bar and restroom, and lasts 90 minutes. I took part in the latter.
Overall, the Virginia Aquarium is a very solid and quality facility that does a great job showcasing Virginia's aquatic ecology, while maintaining a coherent theme throughout. Both the collection and exhibitry are very good as well; the Restless Planet exhibit in particular stands out not just for having an exotic collection, but also featuring a theme that ties it to Virginia's geologic past. Even the native exhibits are very well done. The aquarium's location and features also make it an excellent place to observe native wildlife. With all of this, the aquarium provides plenty to do and allows for an enriching and varied experience.
So with all that praise, you may be wondering: why did I rank this facility so low in my US Zoo rankings (see here -> https://www.zoochat.com/community/t...-you-have-visited.157699/page-18#post-1491902 where I currently rank it at 20/25 of facilities I visited, excluding facilities I visited as a kid)?
Two words: guest experience. The aquarium is currently requiring advanced reservations to visit. While I wish facilities that still do this would start moving away from it, that's not an automatic deal breaker in my opinion. It does make it harder to plan trips, and the no-refunds policy means you're usually out of luck if something comes up (my trip came very close to be bulldozed by Hurricane Lee had it not stayed offshore).
The real deal breaker is that you can only go through the exhibit loop ONCE per ticket purchase. Once you leave the exhibit loop, that's it. There is no re-entry under normal circumstances. Apparently, their current standard procedure is to only allow you to enter the exhibit loop once per ticket. This was confirmed by the admissions folks.
Now, keep in mind that I said "exhibit loop" and not "aquarium/facility". If you look at the aquarium map here -> https://www.virginiaaquarium.com/assets/Documents/PlanVisit/VisitorMap_Sept21_Web.pdf, you will see where the exhibit loop starts and ends by the "Start Here" and "Exit Here" labels. Once you leave that loop, you cannot reenter with the same ticket. Notice how their cafe and one of the restrooms is located outside the loop? The restroom inside the loop is placed near the end, requiring long treks to and back if nature calls at the wrong time.
This is complete and utter horse crap. I am the kind of person that loves spending all day at these facilities and traversing exhibits multiple times to get more opportunities to see and photograph animals (something that became especially helpful on my Virginia Zoo visit), and this policy is IMO a huge inconvenience that removes a lot of the freedom guests usually enjoy visiting these places.
Granted, they did allow me to go through the exhibits a 2nd time when I asked after I had lunch at their cafe midday and then did the boat tour, since it was a slow day. But the fact that this is their standard procedure still rubs me the wrong way. I sincerely hope this is just a temporary measure to control crowds while they wait for the South Building to finally reopen.
Also, the exhibit loop is fully enclosed despite it being apparent that the aquarium was not designed with this in mind since they barricaded off paths you could take to "skip ahead" or "skip back" to the beginning. Look at the map I linked above; notice the "shortcut" between the "Chesapeake Bay Exhibits" and the "Touch Tank" just after the "Chesapeake Bay" tank? That is barricaded so you cannot skip back to the beginning from there after passing the touch tank. Also, if you look at the nature trail map at the bottom, the "Scenic Overlook" and the rest of the trail appear to be separate. They are actually connected, but again are barricaded off so that they can enforce the "one trip through exhibit loop only" policy. Ughh.
Sorry for the long rant. I really like this facility and had a great time. But it just bugs me that they have such a policy in place when similar facilities, like the Tennessee Aquarium or even SeaLife Charlotte-Concord, do not. Everything else is great despite that. Regardless, let's dig in.
