The Living Planet Aquarium456

The Living Planet Aquarium is continually expanding its "preview exhibit" - a taste of what it envisions for a future 90,000-square foot world-class aquarium in Salt Lake County. The Living Planet displays a large variety of aquatic creatures, including favorites such as a giant octopus, sharks, eels, seahorses, and a giant lobster. A touch pool allows children (and parents) a chance to get up close and personal with some stingrays, and toddlers love exploring the nooks, crannies, caves, and tunnels in the Coral Community exhibit.

Another popular exhibit for kids of all ages is the Jellies Room, featuring several species of jellyfish including the upside-down jellyfish, sea nettles, and moon jellies.

The aquarium's Bio-Facts Station is a hands-on marine biology learning center where guests can see and study many species of crabs, snails, anemones, and shrimps, and even touch some sea stars, urchins, sea cucumbers, and horseshoe crabs. Naturalists are on-hand to explain how these animals live, feed, and propagate.

The Utah Waters Gallery houses some of Utah's threatened and endangered species - June suckers, least chub, Columbia spotted frogs, boreal toads, etc. Families can learn all about the importance of preserving and protecting Utah's waterways as they explore and experience this exhibit.

The Life on the Reef exhibit features marine life from the Indo-Pacific waters. Visitors can get an up-close look at the structure of coral communities and the animals that feed, rest, hide, and reside in this habitat.

Journey to South America, an aquatic-themed rainforest exhibit, allows visitors to experience the sights and sounds of the rainforest, and see several intriguing animals, such as giant anacondas, tarantulas, piranhas, four-eyed fish (very cool!), and poison arrow frogs. Our favorite animal in this gallery is the electric eel, where you can hear the critter's electric pulses and even interact with signage that's quite shocking...literally. Signage throughout the gallery teaches visitors about rainforest ecosystems, how we benefit from these exotic places, and what we can do to help protect these sensitive and amazing habitats.

The aquarium's penguin and Animal Superheroes exhibits are the newest additions.

No stroller rental is available, but people are welcome to bring their own strollers in the building - there is plenty of room to maneuver them. Both the men's and the women's restrooms have changing tables.

A gift store is located at the front of the building (west of the entrance) and a little cafe operates in a room just east of the reception desk.

The aquarium's Calypso Cafe serves sandwiches, wraps, soups, and salads. The quality is hit and miss, but mostly hit - the Southwest turkey sandwich, the Krakken club, and the tomato basil soup are quite good. We wish the food, which must be eaten in the cafe and not carried into the galleries, would be served on washable, reusable trays and plates, but instead it's wrapped in paper and tossed in a paper bag. It seems odd that a restaurant in a facility with an environmental message uses so much disposable material and doesn't provide a recycling container. Hopefully that will change soon.

Summer Day Camps for children ages four to 17 are offered. Each camp teaches kids something cool about life under the ocean. The camps occur on varying dates from June through August, and include a snack and T-shirt. Additional details and registration forms are available on the aquarium's website, or call 801.495.4448 ex 210 for more information.

Reservations can be made for birthday parties, family reunions, business meetings, and social events in the aquarium's "Sunken Ship," a replica of an 1830s sailing ship. Parties can be reserved after 3pm Mon-Fri and anytime during regular operating hours on Sat and Sun. Party package pricing can be found on the aquarium's website, or call 801.495.4448 ex 212 for details and reservations.

Memberships are available. Members receive free admission to the aquarium for a year, 10% off in the gift store, and 10% off the price of Sunken Ship birthday parties.

Facility rentals for meetings, company parties, proms, weddings, and receptions are available. The aquarium can accommodate up to 500 people per event; call 801.485.4448 ex 202 for pricing and reservations.