2024 WAIKIKI AQUARIUM IN HAWAII : SECOND OLDEST AQUARIUM IN THE UNITED STATES

[Music] welcome to exploring with Cindy and Dan today we are in the beautiful island of Oahu in Hawaii and we will explore the weiki aquarium so join us in this adventure the W Kiki aquarium is a public aquarium in Honolulu Hawaii it was founded on March 19 1904 then known as the Honolulu aquarium and has been an institution of the University of Hawaii since 1919 weiki aquarium is the second oldest aquarium in the United States after Barum National Museum aquarium in New York the W Kiki aquarium is located at 2777 kakawa Avenue on the shoreline in capani park and it is within walking distance of w Kiki Beach across the street from the capani Park tennis courts in the shadow of Diamond Head State Monument you can also get to the aquarium via the Bus Route 14 19 20 or 22 and the W trolley Green Line the aquarium is open from 900 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily and the last admission entry is at 4:30 p.m. admission tickets for adults is $12 Junior and senior is $5 children under three is free and the Kam is $8 Kam describes Hawaiian residents you can buy your tickets online or at the gate parking is free and there are limited parking spaces available at the aquarium but if you can't find parking meter street parking is available on the left hand side of kakawa Avenue the aquarium is a smokefree facility and only service animals are allowed inside the aquarium and remember that all visitors under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult the aquarium opened with 35 tanks and around 400 marine organisms today the aquarium's diverse Marine ecosystem attracts thousands of visitors monthly and host very ious species of fish Turtles and marine mammals such as seals and sea lions the amazing adaptation Gallery displays a diverse collection of seah horses sea dragons and pipe fishes extending over 60 ft of gallery wall and holding over 3,000 gallons of water this Gallery includes nine exhibits there is also an area for marine protected area and conservation you will find Hawaiian and Asian extreme fishes and also tilapias the Pacific Ocean Harbors a great range of aquatic habitats and unique species display here at the aquarium the Marine protected areas and conservation Gallery includes weiki aquarium's only freshwater exhibits this exhibit highlight Hawaii's endemic freshwat stream gobes and shrimps inside the coral Farm exhibits you will find the emperor angel fish black Tang stack horn coral flower pot coral and photosynthetic gorgonian the W Kiki aquarium has pioner efforts to cultivate Corals in aquariums here you will also find a giant fish and an outdoor giant clam display exhibits with a variety of clam species the weiki aquarium was built by the Honolulu Rapid Transit and land company that wished to show the world The Riches of Hawaii's Reef Frederick Potter a clerk of the Honolulu Rapid Transit company was the first director of the aquarium despite his lack of formal training in Marine Sciences but he did a great job for the first 15 years the aquarium operated as a privately financed institution with display animals collected by local fishermen in 1912 the CM cook estate donated funds for a marine biology lab beginning its research tradition in 1940 Spencer Tinker was the second director of the aquarium and he directed the construction of a new facility known as the waik aquarium which opened in 1955 and included a saltwater well to supply the display tanks today the aquarium is a still house in the 1955 building which occupies 2.35 Acres of estate land on the shoreline of capani park by 1975 Dr Leon Taylor an expert with sharks was appointed the third director he vitalized the institution with an annual budget of $1 million and a staff of 23 full-time employees in 1990 Dr Bruce Carlson was the Ford director he previously worked with Dr Taylor in 1986 he initiated the coral propagation program for which the aquarium is now world renowned in 2004 Dr Andrew roster was appointed the fifth director of the aquarium joining the aquarium on the onset of the 100th anniversary celebrations he increased public awareness of the ecology and conservation of marine life and reef habitats throughout aquarium exhibition research and education once you exit the main aquarium exhibition area you will find a beautiful open space area with more exhibits this area is called the edge of the reef the exhibit provides a profile of Hawaiian shorline habitats ranging from the rocky Coast to the coral reef environmental condition shape these habitats and the marine life found in each on the left side of the edge of the reef you will find the quiet water Reef in the center is the surch sweep Reef the Splash Zone is at the back of the reef and the tide pool and water Impact Zone are on the right side of the reef as I mentioned before the weiki aquarium has Pioneer efforts to cultivate Corals in aquarium corals require clean low nutrient water and warm temperatures and also sunlight and this outdoor environment is perfect for the coral exhibit the Hawaiian monk seal exhibition area was closed at this time talking to one employee she was telling us that the aquarium is renovating and repairing the Hawaiian monk seal exhibit and the resident seal has temporarily moved to a research program in California and he will be part of a behavioral study of monk seals behind the coral exhibit you will find the stripe mullet exhibit the stripe mullet are found in highly salted to fresh waters that are warm and they spend a lot of time close to shore around streams and rivers the adults grow to a length of 9 to 19 in and they are irregularly round with silverly body and dark bluish green back and of course dark stripes if you are looking for the bathrooms they are located on the east side of the stripe mullet exhibit the gift shop is located at the entrance of the aquarium here you will find a wide variety of apparel souvenir jewelry toys art and many more merchandise made made in Hawaii you can also find books on Pacific and Hawaiian marine life if you become a member or a volunteer at the aquarium you will receive 20% discount off of your purchase excluding books and sales items this is the end of our video we hope you liked it please consider subscribing to our Channel with the notification Bell on so you know when we'll have our next video of another amazing place thank you [Music]