BUFFALO, N.Y. — This weekend marks 55 years of celebrating aquatic wildlife in the Falls for the Aquarium of Niagara. They won't be able to celebrate with guests in person for a few more weeks, but we're learning more about what they have planned for reopening during Phase 4 of the state's plan.
Summer is typically the busy season at the aquarium, but with no ticket sales due to COVID-19, the organization is missing out on 80% of its revenue, so they are eager to reopen as soon as possible. Executive Director Gary Siddall says the plan they've developed has 40 new protocols and procedures to keep the visitors, staff and animals safe. However, guests may not notice much is different about the overall experience.
"One of the benefits that we have is in the way that our building and our exhibits are designed is that the exhibits are all about six feet apart to begin with," he told 2 On Your Side. "So what we're going to ask visitors to do, is to stay with the groups they came with and position themselves with one group per each exhibit. So that should allow a really nice way for people to move through the building without having to think a whole lot about it. We want it to be very intuitive, and we don't want it to take away from the fact that people should enjoy their time here at the aquarium."
When the aquarium does reopen, the new baby penguins will be ready for public viewing. They hatched back in March, soon after the facility closed to the public.
As for their 55th anniversary celebrations, check out the Aquarium's website throughout the weekend for a special commemorative videos, or to purchase a T-shirt, with proceeds going towards the aquarium's animal collection.