 In June 2000, the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium celebrated the grand opening of its newest jewel, a 45,000-square-foot state-of-the-art aquarium. The $17.4 million facility flows with 380,000 gallons of salt and fresh water and houses more than 40 aquatic exhibits. It is Pennsylvania's only public aquarium and makes Pittsburgh one of only six zoos in the country to house a major aquarium.
With the theme "Diversity of Water," the new PPG Aquarium is home to more than 4,000 aquatic animals from around the world, including penguins, stingrays, jellyfish, an electric eel and thousands of exotic fish. The building includes a classroom for educational programs to help visitors further explore the "mysteries of the deep."
Highlights of the new PPG Aquarium include:
- Pennsylvania Waters Exhibit - a river exhibit that flows along the front of the new building, with waterfalls descending into a pool of North American fish from the region
- Open Ocean Tank - a two-story, 100,000 gallon tank that combines sharks, fish and simulated coral to resemble a more diverse and complete ecosystem
- Amazon Rainforest Exhibit - a two-story recreation of a flooded Amazon rainforest, including lush plant life, piranhas and huge South American pacu.
- Candy Cane Window - a cold water marine exhibit featuring a uniquely shaped window that allows visitors to view fish swimming above and alongside them
- Stingray Tunnel - a unique educational exhibit where children can crawl through a clear tunnel to view stingrays swimming above and alongside them
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