The Zoo Review: Zoo Review: Oklahoma Aquarium, Part I

Located in Jenks, a suburb to the south of Tulsa, the Oklahoma Aquarium stands on a hillside overlooking the Arkansas River. The facility focuses primarily (but not exclusively) on the aquatic animals and habitats of the Sooner State. It isn't an especially enormous collection - think of something a little larger than your typical SeaLife Aquarium - but is a fairly diverse and interesting array of species in (mostly) fairly nice habitats.

Although it only opened in 2003, I felt an almost nostalgic vibe as soon as I entered the aquarium's lobby (having first walked past several large and attractive sculptures of aquatic animals outside). Perhaps because it was a fairly dark and stormy afternoon, the inside felt very cozy and cheerful, dominated by an enormous, old-timey carousel and with a small café and gift shop nearby; it reminded me of a shopping mall from my childhood. Doors on the opposite side of the lobby led out to a playground overlooking the river, while all of the animal habitats were situated in a series of galleries to the righthand side (one thing I immediately enjoyed about the Oklahoma Aquarium was the layout - too many aquariums I've been to lately are tight, one-way corridors of exhibits, and I feel like I'm on a conveyer belt being pushed through. It's hard to double back to see animals you might want to take a second look at or might have missed. Maybe i's just because the facility was fairly empty, but I felt very free to meander and backtrack).

One of the first displays that many visitors will see is the Amazing Invertebrates gallery, which is a combination of small tanks featuring starfish, coral, and other marine invertebrates, as well as a touch tank with horseshoe crabs and other touchable species. An interesting feature of this area is a large recreation of a shrimp boat, seemingly washed up on a shore with its interior partially flooded, filled with Ecuadorian white shrimp. It's certainly one of the more unique invertebrate exhibits I've seen in an aquarium, especially for a species that many aquariums don't highlight. Another positive feature of this facility that I'll give a shout out to while I'm here - the signage is uncommonly good for an aquarium, institutes which, as a whole, tend to be pretty bad at labeling their animals. I really don't know fish or invertebrates nearly as well as I do other animals, so I appreciate being able to actually know what I'm looking at. Just down the hall is an exhibit for the most popular of all aquarium invertebrates, the giant Pacific octopus. The exhibit was a strange-looking one - I was definitely getting some sort of steampunk/Jules Verne vibe from it, but I think that's the point. At any rate, it seemed large and complex enough for this intelligent, inquisitive species.

The octopus exhibit is a bridge to the next exhibit area, Marvels and Mysteries, which is basically a catch-all of various popular, interesting aquarium species, both freshwater and marine. Among these are archerfish, renown for their ability to knock bugs off of overhanging leaves by squirting water from their mouths, seahorses, red-bellied piranhas, and an electric eel. There's also a small collection of poison dart frogs. Another touch tank in this area gives visitors the chance to touch moon jellies.

It's a rare aquarium, I feel, that doesn't have an Amazon exhibit, so I wasn't surprised to see one here. Compared to many facilities, this one was fairly modest - a single large tank, lacking some of the larger and more charismatic Amazon species, such as arapaima, but featuring others, such as ripsaw catfish and silver arowana. For many visitors, the green iguanas lounging in the branches over the water will be the main attraction - except for the kids. For them, the main attraction will be the little tunnel that they can use to crawl through the tank and gain an extra up-close perspective of the fish.

The tropical oceans of the world are represented in two side-by-side habitats. Polynesian Reef features dozens of species of tropical fish congregating around a sunken ship. There are assorted butterflyfish, parrotfish, triggerfish, wrasses, and tangs swirling around the wreck, but the main draw will be the green moray eel, often seen peering out from crevices with an eerie gap. Zebra sharks are another large, recognizable species of the exhibit. Theming is enhanced with murals, palm trees, and a series of large island carvings, which give the exhibit a tropical feel.

Next door is Sea Turtle Island, dominated by a massive loggerhead turtle. The turtle is joined by small sharks (bonnetheads and leopard sharks), as well as an assortment of other tropical fish. The animals can be seen either through underwater viewing or from the top of the tank on a viewing deck themed like a Caribbean beach. As with many of the exhibits, there are feeding demonstrations scheduled through the week.