by Noella Noelophile®
On Friday morning, Long Beach’s Aquarium of the Pacific sat behind a giant red ribbon.
The adornment seemed very appropriate. Attendees–and future generations–were about to receive a unique gift.
At nine, the Aquarium’s new Pacific Visions® wing would celebrate its grand opening.
About 250 students from Lakewood High School waited excitedly for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
In a matter of minutes, they would become the first members of the general public to see the nearly 29,000-square-foot new addition.
As mentioned in our previous coverage, Pacific Visions® represents the culmination of fourteen years of planning and design.
(Aquarium of the Pacific President and CEO Dr. Jerry Schubel told reporters, during a May 17th press preview, that the original concept began in 2005, during a retreat. Actual construction took just under two-and-a-half years, according to an Aquarium press release, following groundbreaking on February 2, 2017. )
Pacific Visions® also signals a bold step towards reversing climate change. (And, as Dr. Jerry Schubel mentioned during the press event, the new wing is also the first major construction in the Aquarium’s history.)
Now, with the grand opening minutes away, Aquarium staff were prepared with a giant pair of scissors.
Welcoming the guests, Dr. Schubel referenced the ways Pacific Visions® would use art and interactive technology to educate and inspire visitors.
“We have the technology (to conserve our ecosystem),” he said. “Now we just need (to be creative and innovative).”
Previewing what guests would see in Pacific Visions®’ four separate areas, Dr. Schubel gave them a tongue-in-cheek warning.
“We have a digital waterfall, with fish swimming away from (your footsteps and water ripples and splashes),” he said. “But there’s a shark in there if you’re there too long.”
Brief remarks followed, from Aquarium Board Vice Chairman Doug Otto, American Honda Vice President of Corporate Relations and Social Responsibility Steve Morikawa, and Long Beach Councilmember Jeannine Pearce.
And then…the moment had arrived.
The waiting students gave a hearty Lakewood High School cheer.
Councilmember Pearce immortalized the moment with a quick selfie.
Then…
SNIP!
Cheers and whoops filled the air. And from inside the Aquarium, the drums began…
…courtesy of OCO Kibou Taiko, who serenaded Pacific Visions’® first general-public guests as they began filing into the Aquarium.
OCO Kibou Taiko is presented by the Orange Coast Optimists Club. OCO Taiko Chair Joyce Mebed and member Julia Wong explained that the taiko group started six years ago.
Julia said members of OCO Kibou Taiko can be ages twelve and up (to senior citizens!). And they offer beginners’ taiko classes, according to the Orange Coast Optimists Club’s website.
Through new pairs of eyes
Following the students on their exploration, we watched them take in the exhibits–and the effects which climate change and human actions could have on their futures.
They browsed the Art Gallery, with its touchable coral sculpture panels and hand-blown glass sculptures, inspired by plankton.
In the Orientation Gallery, they “waded” through the virtual waterfall…
…and saw a short video about the history of life on earth and humans’ connection to the sea.
The Honda Pacific Visions Theater presented them with a challenge.
And so did the Culmination Gallery, which is the fourth space in Pacific Visions®.
The call to action: how could each audience member participate in designing a sustainable future, with a projected global population of ten billion by the year 2050?
The Culmination Gallery invited the guests to get their hands on and explore the ways one person could make a difference.
“I think it’s pretty cool,” said Lakewood High junior Malachi Carter. “I like the way they involve…new technology and stuff. It made it a lot more interesting, how they…explain the reasons why they wanted to make the whole new facility. ”
Asked what the new Pacific Visions® facility might mean to his future, Malachi said, “I think it will make me really consider what I do in my future a lot more. Like, what I do in the environment and stuff like that.
“How they were saying the whole thing about the population in 2050…I’m going to be alive (then), so it makes me want to go out and do more, to help the environment and stuff.”
Aquarium of the Pacific, at 100 Aquarium Way in Long Beach, is open from 9 am to 6 pm daily except for Christmas Day. And they’d like to invite you to come and experience Pacific Visions®! Here’s the link for information.