CITY LIMITS: Under the sea

At the Camden Aquarium, it's definitely hotter under the water The sharks are polishing their teeth. The fish are cleaning their gills. And the crabs are filing their claws. This Saturday, February 29, the Thomas H. Kean New Jersey State Aquarium at Camden will open its doors and the aquatic species calling the aquarium their new home are ready to strut their stuff. Although visitors to the aquarium may have to battle the traffic on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and trudge their way through Camden, once they enter the aquarium, they will feel the calm, soothing peace of the aquarium with its dimmed red lighting which simulates being underwater. · Visitors begin their journey inside the base of the giant rotunda of the aquarium, which is visible from the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and across the river on the shores of the Delaware River. The entire floor of the rotunda is comprised of fossils found in the Sahara. In addition, the walls are painted to resemble the ocean. The bottom layer is a dark blue, imitating the great depths of the ocean, and each increasing layer is a lighter color blue showing how more light reaches the higher levels of the ocean. According to Francine Cheeks, aquarium spokesperson, the aquarium is dedicated to representing sea life in and around New Jersey, specifically the Atlantic Ocean and the Hudson Bay. Between 70 and 90 percent of the aquarium's inhabitants were collected in these waters, she said. · The aquarium's largest and most impressive exhibit is its "Open Ocean Tank," which holds 760,000 gallons of water and is the nation's second-largest open ocean tank. The tank represents the waters of New Jersey, Cheeks said. The giant tank contains 35 varieties of acquatic life from the North Atlantic, including graceful sting rays, dogfish, banded rudderfish, sand tigers and sand bar sharks. Currently, the meat-eating sharks are being trained to ignore their instincts of eating the other inhabitants of the tank, Cheeks said. Marine biologists feed the sharks from the end of a large stick and condition the sharks to specific times and methods of feeding. "We can't say there hasn't been any attrition," Cheeks said about the sharks eating their fellow inhabitants. "But the retraining has been working." And according to marine biologist Frank Steslow, the sharks are the best fed of all the aquatic life. The sharks dine on fresh fish from a seafood store, while the rest of the tank inhabitants must eat frozen squid, fish and clams. In addition, Steslow said the marine biologists prepare a gelatin mixture of fish, vegetables and vitamins to ensure the fish receive the proper nutrients and antibiotics they may need. Visitors can view the giant tank from four different exhibit areas. "The Ocean Realm," a giant window eight feet tall and 38 feet wide, offers the largest view of sea life. Simulating an underwater exploratory station, the "Sea Probe" allows visitors to watch sharks glide by through large portholes. One of the portholes is concave, allowing curious sea explorers to extend their heads out into the tank and catch a closer view of the fish. The "Edge of the Abyss" is constructed to resemble the drop off of the continental shelf at the Hudson Canyon off New Jersey's coast. Cheeks said the actual Hudson Canyon is three times larger than the Grand Canyon. In addition, visitors can sit in the amphitheater outside the abyss and listen to a scuba diver talk to them from inside the tank. Finally, "Shipwrecks come to Life Down Below" is a long window depicting a sunken shipwreck where many small fish take refuge from their predators, and to which algae and invertebrates cling. According to an explanation of the exhibit, the state of New Jersey often purposely sinks old ships and other objects to provide a shelter for aquatic life. All the rocks and scenes throughout the giant tank are simulated and not taken from actual ocean sites. And visitors should not be fooled by the pretty starfish clinging to the rocks in the giant tank because they are not real. According to Cheeks, if the starfish were real, they would be eaten by the fish in the tank. The salt water in the giant tank and in smaller exhibits throughout the aquarium is also not a genuine ocean product. According to Cheeks, the aquarium produces sea water from ordinary Camden tap water treated with salt and chemicals. · Earlier this week, workers were still adding finishing touches to many of the smaller exhibits, and some of the aquatic life was still waiting to take its place among the aquarium's exhibits. On Tuesday, two of the friendlier creatures at the aquarium moved into their new homes at the aquarium's outside exhibits ready to delight audiences of any age. Luke and Squeegee, two brown harbor seals, arrived from the Philadelphia Zoo and dove into their 170,000 gallon, outdoor salt-water pool. Both seals were born in captivity and will be joined by three other harbor seals and two grey seals. Visitors will be able watch as the seals frolic in the water and as trainers feed the mammals from both underwater and above-water observation points. The other outdoor exhibit is the "Trout Stream," where visitors can observe many varieties of trout, including catfish, sunfish and pickerel, in a stream-like environment. Although the trout had yet to inhabit the stream early this week, Cheeks said they should be comfortably moved-in by Saturday's grand opening. The outdoor exhibits will be operated year-round, according to Cheeks. Visitors should dress warmly or bring a jacket because the weather can become chilly during this time of the year. · The many additional exhibits inside the aquarium range from the "To Touch a Shark" exhibit to the "Sea Senses" exhibit. Visitors will laugh, squeal or cringe when they reach into shallow pools to pet harmless sharks, stingrays and horseshoe crabs. A few exhibits, including "Bottom Dwellers," showcase the appearance of fish who can camouflage themselves in their surroundings. In addition, young children will enjoy a wall covered with large Colorform-like plastic fish which can be moved around into different backgrounds in order to teach children about fishes' camouflaging techniques. Although the aquarium's focus is on aquatic life found in New Jersey waters, the "Far, Far from Home" exhibit contains some Caribbean fish that are occasionally swept from the tropics into North Atlantic waters by strong gulf currents. At the "Under the Boardwalk" exhibit, visitors won't see young lovers, but rather pilings encrusted with barnacles, mussels, sponges and tunicates like those found under the classic New Jersey boardwalks. The "Water Babies" exhibit tells the story of the facts of life as they pertain to fish, not the birds and the bees. A series of nurseries show developing and recently hatched trout eggs and blue accura eggs, as well as baby lobsters. Children can also turn large pillars attached to the wall which tell the story of how fish grow. At the "Sea Senses" exhibit visitors can place their hands on a small tank and feel how the music of James Brown causes great vibrations throughout a fish's body and hear the vibrating electronic sounds fish produce. They can also place their heads inside a simulated dolphin head and sense what the mammal might feel. In addition, curious humans are able to look through the eyes of a fish or a lobster and see how they view their world. Most fish view the world in a electronically distorted manner. The "Water Colors" exhibit is a beautiful display of vibrant, colorful aquatic life. The exhibit includes a shy but impressive octupus, as well as demonstrations on how light affects the coloring and shades of different fish. Only a few exhibits were not ready earlier this week for the grand opening, including the exhibits "Jellyfish: Delicate Drifters" and "Life on the Barrier Beach," but Cheeks said the exhibits' inhabitants would be arriving any day. · The huge rotunda of the aquarium acts not only as a house for New Jersey's aquatic life, but as a weather-warning station as well. When the weather is clear, the rotunda will be illuminated by blue light. Cloudy weather will be represented by a white light and bad weather by a red light. During threatening storm warnings the rotunda will blink red as well. · The aquarium cost $52 million to build and is operated by the New Jersey Academy for Aquatic Sciences and funded by the New Jersey State Legislature. In addition, the aquarium is managed by the Philadelphia Zoo. Visitors can watch the view of Philadelphia coast and skyline seen from most spots inside the aquarium, the cafe and the outside exhibits. Students can reach the aquarium by driving over the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and following the signs after the bridge tolls in Camden to I-676 and exiting on Mickle Boulevard and continuing to follow the signs. Parking is available at the aquarium's 700-car parking garage and 1300-car outdoor parking facility. In addition, according to the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, a ferry service will begin running from Penn's Landing to the aquarium on March 31. The 400-passenger ferry will run from a dock located near the Port of History Museum to a new dock south of the aquarium. The ferry will run from 7 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. on weekdays, from 9 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Saturdays and from 9 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Sundays. Ferry hours will be extended between May and September. A one-way ride on the ferry will cost $2 for adults and $1.50 for children and senior citizens. Adult and children tickets at the aquarium cost $8.50 and $5.50 respectively. For students with proper I.D., tickets cost $7. Tickets can be purchased in advance for specific dates and times at the aquarium ticket office or by calling (609) 365-3300. The aquarium will be open daily from 9:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. except for New Year's Day, Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. · Approximately 10,000 people are expected to attend the grand opening on Saturday, Cheeks said. Tickets will be sold with specific times on them to keep the flow of people moving throughout the aquarium. Cheeks said the normal visitor can see all the exhibits in the aquarium within one-and-one-half to two hours. The aquarium is expected to draw one million visitors in its first year of operation alone. The aquarium is the major project in a $500 million Camden waterfront revitalization effort.

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