What to Know
- Aquarium of the Pacific's new wing
- Long Beach
- May 24, 2019 opening date
When we pull a snorkle mask over our eyes, or even goggles made for pool use, we've got a particular aim in mind: Seeing more clearly while submerged beneath the waves.
And while we haven't literally slipped a pair of goggles over our face, the Aquarium of the Pacific has made it easier to see a bit further, into the future, via an aqua-tastic announcement made on Tuesday, Jan. 8.
If you're guessing that it might have to do with Pacific Visions, the under-development wing at the Long Beach destination, a massive addition that has been rising for well over a year, well, you're seeing quite clearly through your proverbial snorkel mask.
For the aquarium revealed that Pacific Visions now has its highly anticipated opening date: Friday, May 24, 2019.
That is, indeed, the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend, which means that the 29,000-square-foot addition will make its first splash just in time for the busy summer season.
Did you already know that the new wing is the "first major expansion" at the aquarium since its 1998 opening? It's a tidbit that makes one's aquarium-loving heart leap in the manner of a dolphin breaking the ocean's surface.
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So what'll be gurgling, quite grandly, inside Pacific Visions?
An "immersive art gallery experience" is one centerpiece, as is the "state-of-the-art immersive theater."
The art gallery installation "... immerses the visitor in sea life through a multi-channel video installation, spatial soundscapes, and sculptural relief walls enhanced with lighting." Convivial Studio, of Germany, is the visionary design firm behind this way-cool experience.
Pacific Visions, in short? It'll be as nifty as a nautilus and sure to elicit the sort of "wows" that a whale sighting might. Think of it, in a way, as a big and lavish pool of oceanic wonder, in short, though you won't need to get wet.
Still, you may want to plug your nose and plan to jump into a visit to the new aquarium wing, and all of its future-forward offerings, now that its first day is only just over four months away.
Do you already own a snorkel mask that allows you to gaze that far down the road? Now we all do, knowing now that Pacific Visions is no longer a shimmering vision but a soon-to-open, land-based reality.
