Aquarium History
A History of the Aquarium of the Pacific
Since opening on June 20, 1998, the Aquarium has achieved many milestones over the past ten years, including our successes in animal breeding, ocean education, celebrating cultural diversity, volunteerism, and more.
As a nonprofit organization, we thank all of our more than 12 million guests, tens of thousands of members, generous donors, the City of Long Beach, and our dedicated employees and volunteers for 10 outstanding years.
Aquarium History Blog
Hear behind-the-scenes stories about the Aquarium and its animals from our original employees and volunteers.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
On May 16th 1989 a female harbor seal was born in Brooklyn, New York. She was named Elga in honor of a local philanthropist. In 1998 Elga found her way to California where she helped open the new Aquarium of the Pacific as one of the main attractions in the Southern California Baja Gallery. At the Long Beach-based Aquarium, the seal’s East Coast sounding Elga became the more SoCal sounding Ellie. On May 16th, 2009 the Saturday marine mammal crew celebrated her 20th birthday.
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Aquarium Fun Facts
The Aquarium of the Pacific was the first institution to breed rare weedy sea dragons.
Aquarium Fun Facts
The golden trevallies have been with us since the beginning. About the size of a dime when they first arrived, they were voracious eaters and have now grown to two feet in size (half of their full size).
Aquarium Fun Facts
Most of the live coral on exhibit was given to us by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service after having been confiscated as illegal shipments into the United States.
Aquarium Fun Facts
Aquarium volunteers have contributed more than one million hours of service.
Aquarium Fun Facts
The very first fishes introduced to their exhibit at the Aquarium were to the Tropical Preview in October 1997.
Aquarium Fun Facts
The Aquarium has been visited by more than 1.5 million students and teachers.
Aquarium Fun Facts
Because the sea kraits are profoundly venomous, we are required to maintain a supply of antivenom at St. Mary’s Hospital in Long Beach. The exhibit is locked and, for security, only two people carry the key.
Aquarium Fun Facts
Our giant Pacific octopus’ favorite toy is a Mr. Potato Head, which is where we put her food. She systematically dismantles it, removing the eyes, ears, and all other parts, in her determination to reach the food inside. She will also remove the screw top lid from a glass jar to reach food inside.
Aquarium Fun Facts
Many of the fishes in Blue Cavern and Amber Forest were obtained during a series of collection trips conducted with the help of Long Beach Sportfishing in Rainbow Harbor. We asked them to invite some of their best regular customers to help us. They did what they enjoyed most—catching lots of fish. Some of the fish from those trips that you see in the exhibits today are California halibut, ocean whitefish, kelp bass, and sand bass, and various rockfishes and surfperch.
Aquarium Fun Facts
Our two Queensland groupers came from interesting places. One was on display in a seafood restaurant in Newport Beach and the other was in a tank in a Las Vegas casino.
Aquarium Fun Facts
One of the Aquarium’s first animals was a cat. Still with us today, Topaz is an orange tabby that lounges in our administrative offices. Topaz was a stray that lived along the harbor rocks when the Aquarium was in its construction phase. He befriended staff and when the Aquarium was finished, Topaz became an official member of our staff.
Aquarium Fun Facts
Our two olive Ridley sea turtles, named Thelma and Louise, came to the Aquarium in 1999. They had originally hatched from eggs that were seized by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents from a traveler from South America at the Dallas/ Fort Worth International Airport.
Aquarium Fun Facts
The very first fishes we received for the Aquarium were the stonefishes, and they are still on exhibit today. This makes them the oldest fish residents of the Aquarium.
Aquarium Fun Facts
The Aquarium was the first among zoos, museums, and Aquariums to join the Climate Action Registry.
Aquarium Fun Facts
The Aquarium has been visited by more than 12 million guests.
Aquarium Fun Facts
The Aquarium has been visited by more than 1.5 million students and teachers.
