Albuquerque Aquarium: Big Fish in a Mountain Pond

The Albuquerque Aquarium is just one of three attractions that make up the ABQ BioPark, which in my opinion is the best value for what you get in it’s three attractions in the city.  You can read more about the BioPark by clicking here.  While it is definitely not the biggest aquarium that I have ever been to it does have the lowest cost of admission that I have seen.  This aquarium is set up around a theme where the visitor is taken down the Rio Grande to the open water of the Gulf of Mexico.  Nothing at the aquarium is truly outstanding, but it is well put together and when coupled with the other two attractions and price of visiting all three as a whole it becomes a wonderful park.

Opened at the end of 1996, the aquarium has aged well.  The exhibits are nice and are basically the same as what you would see at other aquariums around the country the only difference here is the total square feet of this museum is much smaller than other aquariums that have been to, which is understandable considering it is not the only attraction in the BioPark.  The highlight of the aquarium was the 285,000 gallon shark tank with nearly forty-foot-wide viewing window.  At the shark tank there are some bleachers for people to sit on so they can relax and watch the different species of sharks glade through the water.

Besides the very nice shark tank the aquarium has several other exhibits that were enjoyable.  Their Shallows & Shores area shows the ecosystem that exists where the ocean meets the beach.  This area has shorebirds, fish, and stingrays in a large tank near the entrance.   Another large exhibit was their Gulf of Mexico Coral Reef which had a diverse population of tropical fish.  One of the unique exhibits that are on display was their Ship’s Cove which had a variety of scale models of several ships throughout history.  Speaking of boats, the Albuquerque Aquarium even had a steeled-hull shrimp boat from Texas.  Altogether there are 11 different exhibit areas that represent the variety of ecosystems from the mouth waters of the Rio Grande to the deep water of the Gulf of Mexico.

This aquarium might be small, but it has everything that one would expect in a well run and entertaining place.  There is a large variety of fish and other ocean creatures.  The tanks were all well designed and there were interactive areas like a touch pool.  One of the fun things for me to see was the scuba divers feeding the animals and maintaining the tanks.  I particularly liked that part due to jealously at having a job where you routinely get to dive with incredible creatures.  I certainly enjoyed my time there and it was worth visiting when coupled with the two other attractions of the ABQ BioPark.
to see other aquariums like the Albuquerque Aquarium click here.

Albuquerque Aquarium
Located at 2601 Central Ave. NW, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Hours of Operation 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cost as of this posting $7 for 13 to 64 year olds everybody else is $3 unless they are under two then they are free
For more information visit their website at http://www.cabq.gov/biopark/aquarium