Sea Life London Aquarium

Aquarium in London, England

Sea Life London Aquarium

The London Sea Life Aquarium

51°30′7″N 0°7′8″W﻿ / ﻿51.50194°N 0.11889°W﻿ / 51.50194; -0.11889
Date opened| March 1997 (22 years and 9 months ago) [1]
Location| London, England
No. of species| ~500[2]
Total volume of tanks| More than 2,000,000 litres (440,000 imp gal; 530,000 US gal)[2]
Annual visitors| 1,000,000[1]
Memberships| BIAZA[3]
Public transit access|  Waterloo
Westminster
Website| sealife.co.uk/london

The Sea Life London Aquarium is located on the ground floor of County Hall on the South Bank of the River Thames in central London, near the London Eye. It opened in March 1997 as the London Aquarium and hosts about one million visitors each year.

## History

[edit]

In 2005, the aquarium displayed three robotic Fish created by the computer science department at the University of Essex. The fish were designed to be autonomous, swimming around and avoiding obstacles like real fish. Their creator claimed that he was trying to combine "the speed of tuna, acceleration of a pike, and the navigating skills of an eel."[4][5]

In April 2008, the aquarium was purchased by Merlin Entertainments for an undisclosed sum.[6] The facility was closed for a £5 million refurbishment, which was completed in April 2009. The additions included a new underwater tunnel, Shark Walk, a revamped Pacific Ocean tank, and a complete rerouting of the exhibit, all of which were carried out under the supervision of architect Kay Elliott.[7] The attraction officially became a Sea Life Centre when it reopened in April 2009.[8]

In May 2011, the aquarium opened a new penguin exhibit, with 10 gentoo penguins transferred from the Edinburgh Zoo. In 2015, the aquarium was moved to a different location in County Hall due to the opening of Shrek's Adventure, London.

## Conservation and education

[edit]

The aquarium includes two classrooms themed around the conservation campaigns which the zoo supports, which host up to 40,000 school children each year and are open to the public when not in use by the education program. It is involved in several breeding programs including the Cuban crocodile, seahorses, butterfly goodeids, and jellyfish, and works with many conservation organizations including Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society and Shark Trust.[9]

* The underwater tunnel.

* The shark walk.

## See also

[edit]

* London zoo
* Biota!, a proposed but since cancelled aquarium in London

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "London Aquarium". uk-london.info. UK London Travel. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
2. ^ a b "Welcome to SeaLife London Aquarium". visitsealife.com. Merlin Entertainment Ltd. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
3. ^ "BIAZA Zoos and Aquariums". biaza.org.uk. BIAZA. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
4. ^ "Robotic fish make aquarium debut". cnn.com. CNN. 10 October 2005. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
5. ^ "Robot fish swim their own way". thetimes.co.uk. Times of London. 7 October 2005. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
6. ^ Walsh, Dominic (3 May 2008). "Merlin Entertainments tops up list of London attractions with aquarium buy". thetimes.co.uk. Times of London. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
7. ^ "London Aquarium Refurbishment Complete". kayelliott.co.uk. Kay Elliot. Retrieved 12 June 2011.[permanent dead link]
8. ^ Buchanan, Rhoda (8 April 2009). "A fishy day out at the new London Aquarium". thetimes.co.uk. Times of London. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
9. ^ "Conservation successes". visitseBOBalife.com. Merlin Entertainment Ltd. Retrieved 12 June 2011.

## External links

[edit]

Media related to Sea Life London Aquarium at Wikimedia Commons

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Merlin Entertainments

Resort
theme
parks|

* Alton Towers Resort (England)
* Chessington World of Adventures Resort (England)
* Gardaland Resort (Italy)
* Heide Park Resort (Germany)
* Thorpe Park Resort (England)

Legoland
resorts|

* Billund
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Sea Life
locations|

| Standalone
attractions|

* Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium
* National Sea Life Centre, Birmingham
* Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World
* Sea Life Benalmádena
* Sea Life Busan Aquarium
* Sea Life London Aquarium
* Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium
* Sea Life Orlando Aquarium
* Sea Life Porto
* Sea Life Shanghai (Changfeng Ocean World)
* Sea Life Sydney Aquarium
* UnderWater World Sea Life Aquarium

|

In resort
theme parks|

* Sharkbait Reef, Alton Towers
* Atlantis, Legoland Billund Resort
* Sea Life Legoland, Sea Life California Aquarium, Sea Life Nagoya Aquarium, Sea Life Malaysia Aquarium
* Chessington Sea Life Centre, Chessington World of Adventures
* Atlantis, Legoland Deutschland Resort
* Gardaland Sea Life Centre, Gardaland
* Atlantis Submarine Voyage, Legoland Windsor Resort

Sanctuaries|

* Cornish Seal Sanctuary
* Hunstanton Sea Life Sanctuary
* Manly Sea Life Sanctuary
* Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary

In malls|

* Sea Life Arizona
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Tussauds|

* Amsterdam
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Dungeons|

* Alton Towers
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'Eye' attractions|

* Blackpool Tower Eye
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Wild Life locations|

* Wild Life Hamilton Island
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Australian Tree
Top Adventures|

* Illawarra Fly
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Other attractions|

* Falls Creek
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