Birch Aquarium to transform Hall of Fishes into new exhibit

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography is replacing its famed Hall of Fishes exhibit with an entirely new experience.

On Wednesday, Birch announced Hall of Fishes will become Living Seas, an exhibit that is meant to take guests along the oceanic wonders of the West Coast. It will start in the cooler waters of the Pacific Northwest and end in the vibrant reefs of the Tropical Pacific, Birch described.

The Living Seas exhibit is the aquarium’s largest capital improvement since it was built in 1992, according to Birch.

The aquarium said during select dates, guests can contribute to a collection of memories from the Hall of Fishes before its transformation in September.

Nearly 4,000 animals will be moved from the Hall of Fishes, including the giant Pacific octopus and rescued loggerhead sea turtle, to temporary homes while they await the conclusion of the transformation.

View the artist renderings of the Living Seas exhibit below.

The relocation of animals will begin Sept. 3, with the exhibit renovations scheduled to begin Sept. 29. The entire aquarium will close to the public from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3. Some parts of the aquarium will reopen on Oct. 4 as the changes take place.

During the renovation, the blue penguins, weedy sea dragons and leopard sharks exhibits will be open, in addition to Embodied Pacific: Ocean Unseen, a series of art installations between Scripps Institution of Oceanography researchers and artists.

The Living Seas exhibit is slated to open next summer.

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