A seaside adventure awaits at the Canadian Museum of Nature in a new permanent exhibit, which offers visitors a chance to see and touch living tide-pool creatures like anemones, urchins and giant sea cucumbers.
The Pacific Discovery Tank, a nearly five-metre-long transparent aquarium installed at a child’s eye-level, replicates the shallow pools of water along the rocky shores of the Canadian west coast.
Pacific pool tides are home to a diversity of species that thrive in the unforgiving, frigid Pacific Ocean. The new discover thanks offers visitors an opportunity to physically connect with these creatures and provide a greater appreciation and understanding of the ecosystem.
“A lot of things in the ocean are being affected by little tiny bits of microplastics and things that are floating around in the water,” says Katherine Day, program developer with the Canadian Museum of Nature.
“This is a really important piece for people to be able to empathize and learn that there is living creatures in the ocean that are really important and that we need to protect them and take care of them and respect them,” Day says. “They’re really important and we really have to be mindful that we can be part of a solution and not just a problem.”
The exhibit is part of the refreshed Water Connexions space and the area is designed to educate visitors.
“There is a possibility to have virtual workshops and classrooms in the back so we will be welcoming school children,” says Ailsa Barry, vice-president of experience and engagement.
“We want them to be inspired by nature, so some of the key messages that are very important like microplastics in the water and the impact from humans on tidal rock pools and the fantastic diversity in these areas and the knowledge we have about them and the indigenous knowledge we have about them. People come away with that understanding because they’ve had such a great time.”
The Pacific Discovery Tank can be viewed all the time. The hands-on experience is available on Thursday evenings, weekends and during school breaks and holidays, guided by science interpreters, who ensure the creatures remain safe.
The Canadian Museum of Nature is open from Wednesday to Sunday, and timed ticketing is in effect. Tickets can be purchased at nature.ca.