Outer Bay
We're giving our Outer Bay exhibit a fresh look—it will re-open next year with sharks, turtles, puffins and more. Our popular Drifters Gallery, featuring delicate and beautiful jellies, is open through December 31.
Exhibit News
What does it take to grow the stunning spotted jellyfish ( Mastigias papua) in our Hot Pink Flamingos special exhibition? About four months of constant care and vigilance, that’s what.
The Aquarium was one of the first to culture and display live jellyfish, and our new exhibit takes advantage of this know-how. Behind the scenes, Aquarist Tommy Knowles works painstakingly to grow the jellies you see on display, which start as microscopic polyps and are carefully nurtured to their current, three-to-four-inch size on exhibit.
Did You Know?
- Jellies don't have bones, brains, teeth, blood or fins—and they're more than 95 percent water. Yet they thrive in all the world's oceans, and to its darkest depths.
- The Aquarium is a leader in displaying live jellies—most are grown right on site.
- Although they didn't get to the moon, nearly 2,500 moon jelly polyps and ephyrae—two early stages in the jelly life cycle—went into orbit aboard the space shuttle Columbia in May 1991. They were part of a study on the effects of weightlessness on development of internal organs in juvenile jellies.
Jellies Video
Go behind the scenes with Senior Aquarist Chad Widmer, who explains what it's like to care for these colorful and beautiful creatures.
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