Aquarium attracts crowds

By Ingela Ringbjer, On-Line Forty-Niner

Tuesday, September 15, 1998

Since its grand opening June 20, the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific has been a big success, with attendance well over projection, said Ilysha Adelstein, the aquarium's public relations coordinator.

"The response the whole summer has just been great. On June 20, we had people waiting in line for hours before we had even opened," Adelstein said.

As one of the world's largest marine exhibits, the new aquarium, which is the size of three football fields, showcases an array of ocean animals from throughout the Pacific Ocean. The aquarium houses 10,000 marine animals representing more than 500 species from the waters off Southern California and Baja, to the Northern Pacific.

"It's about time Southern California has something like this," Adelstein said. "People were so excited for us to open and to have a world-class marine attraction in their own backyard."

Besides the living exhibits, the 12,000-capacity aquarium features a teacher resource center, two classrooms, an auditorium that seats 190, a restaurant and a gift store.

Since opening, 65,000 people have visited the aquarium. However, the influx of visitors will probably subside after school starts, Adelstein said. During the first year of operation, the aquarium is projected to draw about 1.6 million visitors.

Several educational programs are open to schools and the community, and camping and shark expedition programs are available to the public, Adelstein said.

"In addition to giving people a wonderful experience with the aquarium, we also want to be an educational resource, making learning about marine sciences interesting and fun," she said.

The $117 million aquarium located on the new Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach is a nonprofit organization funded by private revenue bonds.

Adding to Southern California's many attractions, the new aquarium with its nearly 200 employees has proven to be a tremendous success, Adelstein said.

"We knew it was going to be good, but it's definitely better than we anticipated," she said.