“THE HAWAIIAN AQUARIUM”, this state-of-the-art marine park is dedicated to fostering an understanding and respect for Hawai‘i’s bountiful marine life. Its LIVING REEF exhibit features the largest collection of live coral on display in the nation, while other displays and educational tours showcase the language, history and lore of the Hawaiian Islands.
In honor of its 20th anniversary, Maui Ocean Center unveiled a whale exhibit, HUMPBACKS OF HAWAI‘I . This interactive exhibit focuses on humpback whales, using state-of-the- art technology to allow visitors to feel like they’re swimming with these giant ocean mammals. Its 3D Sphere showcases the fi rst 3D fi lm of its kind shot in Hawaiian waters, resulting in an immersive, captivating experience for audiences. The ocean center is the perfect home for the exhibit, since the waters around Maui are one of the humpback whale’s favorite places to winter every year.
The ocean center’s marine collection has been entirely assembled from the Hawaiian Islands’ waters. GREEN SEA TURTLES — part of a hatch- and-release program — eventually are returned to the ocean.
The enchanting 750,000-gallon OPEN OCEAN exhibit can be likened to standing in a giant fi shbowl — with thousands of fi sh swirling around you. Designed to simulate a walk in the ocean, the exhibit features a 54- foot long, 4-inch thick, 240-degree, see-through acrylic tunnel. It is not uncommon for visitors of all ages to press their faces to the sides of the tunnel, or lay their bodies fl at on the fl oor, just for a better view of the creatures of the deep.
Visit mauioceancenter.com for more information. MAUI OCEAN CENTER 808-270-7000
