Oceanarium Bournemouth
Encyclopedia
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
’s seafront, the Oceanarium offers visitors a journey around the waters of the world. 10 recreated environments include the Amazon, Key West, the Mediterranean, Abyss, and the Great Barrier Reef.
World’s First Interactive Dive Cage
The Oceanarium is home to the world’s first Interactive Dive Cage, which submerges users in a 270-degree virtual view of the ocean. Interactive touch technology brings visitors up close to computer generated sea creatures including a dolphin, manta ray and shark through a series of animated experiences, games and challenges. It also features an amazing encounter with a blue whale that swallows the Cage, taking visitors on a journey through its digestive system. .Global Meltdown
Launched in June 2008, the Oceanarium’s interactive feature, Global Meltdown, looks into the potential effects of global warming. Visitors are transported to an imagined time in the future when sea levels have risen to such an extent that tropical fish and sharks swim through the streets of London.State-of-the-art displays show visitors the effects their actions may have on ocean levels and allows them to record personal pledges to reduce their carbon footprint via a special interactive video pledge wall .
Creatures
The Oceanarium is home to hundreds of creatures from across the globe, including:green sea turtle
Green Sea Turtle
The Green sea turtle or green turtle is a large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus Chelonia. Its range extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world, with two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...
s, clownfish
Clownfish
Clownfish or anemonefish are fishes from the subfamily Amphiprioninae in the family Pomacentridae. Twenty-eight species are recognized, one in the genus Premnas, while the remaining are in the genus Amphiprion. In the wild they all form symbiotic mutualisms with sea anemones...
, piranha
Piranha
A piranha or piraña is a member of family Characidae in order Characiformes, an omnivorous freshwater fish that inhabits South American rivers. In Venezuela, they are called caribes...
, guitar fish, bass
Bass (fish)
Bass is a name shared by many different species of popular gamefish. The term encompasses both freshwater and marine species. All belong to the large order Perciformes, or perch-like fishes, and in fact the word bass comes from Middle English bars, meaning "perch."-Types of basses:*The temperate...
, bream, regal tang, lionfish
Lionfish
Lionfish may refer to:* genus Pterois, collectively known as the lionfish* Red Lionfish , a significant invasive species off the East Coast of North America and in the Caribbean-Fish:...
, moray eel
Moray eel
Moray eels are cosmopolitan eels of the family Muraenidae. The approximately 200 species in 15 genera are almost exclusively marine, but several species are regularly seen in brackish water and a few, for example the freshwater moray can sometimes be found in freshwater...
, pufferfish
Pufferfish
Tetraodontidae is a family of primarily marine and estuarine fish of the Tetraodontiformes order. The family includes many familiar species which are variously called pufferfish, balloonfish, blowfish, bubblefish, globefish, swellfish, toadfish, toadies, honey toads, sugar toads, and sea squab...
, southern stingray
Southern stingray
The southern stingray, Dasyatis americana, is a stingray of the family Dasyatidae found in tropical and subtropical waters of the Western Atlantic Ocean from New Jersey to Brazil. It has a flat, diamond-shaped disc, with a mud brown, olive, and grey dorsal surface and white underbelly...
s, cownose ray
Cownose ray
The cownose ray is a species of eagle ray found throughout a large part of the western Atlantic and Caribbean, from New England, USA to southern Brazil. Cownose rays grow rapidly, and male rays often reach about in width and weigh . Females typically reach in width and weigh .-Gestation:The...
s, horn shark
Horn shark
The horn shark is a species of bullhead shark, family Heterodontidae. It is endemic to the coastal waters off the western coast of North America, from California to the Gulf of California. Young sharks are segregated spatially from the adults, with the former preferring deeper sandy flats and the...
s, zebra shark
Zebra shark
The zebra shark is a species of carpet shark and the sole member of the family Stegostomatidae. It is found throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific, frequenting coral reefs and sandy flats to a depth of 62 m...
s, red devil cichlids, upside-down catfish
Upside-down catfish
Upside-down catfish, Synodontis nigriventris, is a species of catfish. It is particularly noteworthy because of its habit of swimming upside down most of the time. Upside-down catfish originate from the Central Congo basin of Africa....
, spiny-tailed lizards.
History
The Oceanarium welcomes in excess of 225,000 visitors per year and in November 2008, the Oceanarium was announced as Tourism Attraction Experience of the Year at Bournemouth’s annual Tourism Awards .The attraction is owned by Spanish leisure giant Parques Reunidos
Parques Reunidos
Parques Reunidos is an international entertainment operator based in Madrid, Spain. The group operates over 50 parks in almost a dozen countries. Parques Reunidos operates theme and amusement parks, zoos, water parks, family entertainment centers, and cable cars...
, who operate 67 parks across the world . Parques Reunidos’ UK parks comprise Oceanarium, Blackpool Zoo
Blackpool Zoo
Located two miles from Blackpool's sea-front in Lancashire, England, Blackpool Zoo provides a home to over 1,500 animals from all over the world. The Zoo aims to provide its visitors with a stimulating, informative and enjoyable experience that demonstrates its role in the conservation of...
and Lakes Aquarium
Lakes Aquarium
The Lakes Aquarium is an aquarium on the southern shore of Windermere, Cumbria, England. It is one of the docking points of Windermere Lakes Cruises and also at one end of the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway...
(formerly Aquarium of the Lakes), Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
.