A shiny new attraction is now open contained in the Oklahoma Aquarium, and guests are giving it rave opinions.
5-year-old Hayes Newcomb is an enormous fan, “I love it!” she says.
It’s a one-of-a-kind carousel positioned proper inside the primary corridor.
“We want to place to feel like magic. We want it to be bright and happy and fun,” says Kenny Alexopoulos, Chief Operating Officer of the Oklahoma Aquarium.
The aquarium-themed Carousel is custom-made, a imaginative and prescient of the aquarium employees.
“It has all kinds of pictures of animals, and we even have some mermaids on top. It’s fantastic. The staff picked out all the colors, we designed a lot of it and made changes to the base carousel, such as replacing mirrors with animal prints and that type of thing,” says Alexopoulos.
It price $600,000 and took a Wichita, Kansas, firm eight months to construct.
“They said this is probably one of the most beautiful carousels they’ve ever created,” stated Alexopoulos.
Instead of horses, this Carousel options sea creatures, all hand-painted.
“Almost every animal has some hidden tiny thing,” says Alexopoulos.
There are sharks, seahorses, and even a legendary sea monster. Staffers say the ocean monster is the most well-liked seat in the home.
There are 18 aquatic animals to select from, or passengers can seize a seat inside a chariot.
“It’s an inclusive carousel. We do have a ramp for wheelchairs, and that chariot has anchors for a wheelchair, so pretty much anybody can ride it,” says Alexopoulos.
The journey lasts a couple of minutes and prices a couple of further {dollars}.
“It’s $3 for the first person in a group and $2 for each person after that in a group,” says Alexopoulos.
The Carousel is likely one of the some ways the Oklahoma Aquarium has continued to evolve because it opened. It’s at all times developing with new displays. The subsequent one might be unveiled in months.
“It’s a jellyfish touch exhibit. You can actually go up and touch the jellyfish, but they are not the kind that sting. We grow a special jellyfish that doesn’t sting so that people will touch them,” says Alexopoulos.
By including extra hands-on displays, the Oklahoma Aquarium hopes to teach youngsters in a enjoyable and interactive method.
“In order to educate them, we have to have them engaged, we have to bring them here, and entertainment is the start of it all. If they’re not having fun, they’re not going to get educated, so we’ve got to have them wanting to come to the aquarium to have fun, and this Carousel fits right in,” says Alexopoulos.
Our 5-year-old test-rider agrees. She soaked up a lot enjoyable this “go around” that she’s already planning her subsequent journey. “It was really fun. I just loved it. I loved it a lot!” says Newcomb.
The Carousel is now open. An official ribbon slicing is ready for November third at 11 am. You can study extra at https://www.okaquarium.org/.
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