National Aquarium of New Zealand, Public aquarium in Napier, New Zealand.
The National Aquarium in Napier is a public aquarium featuring a 50-meter acrylic underwater tunnel for observing marine life. The tunnel passes through a large saltwater tank holding more than a million liters of water, home to various fish species and other sea creatures.
The aquarium started in 1957 as a collection in the basement of a memorial building and later grew into a standalone facility. Its move to the current Marine Parade location in 1976 marked an important turning point in its development.
Since 2017, staff have voted monthly for the best-behaved and naughtiest little penguin in the colony, a contest that became popular on social media. A public vote also names a Penguin of the Year each October. The penguins themselves arrived as abandoned chicks, dog-attack victims or sick wild birds, and some missing flipper parts came from entanglement in fishing nets.
The entrance is on Marine Parade, marked by a grey sign reading "ENTRY" beside glass doors. Two temporary exhibit halls sit on the upper level and next to the oceanarium, with a souvenir shop and cafe on site. The 50 m acrylic tunnel in the oceanarium gives close views of the tank's fish.
In 2016 an octopus named Inky escaped his tank at the aquarium and was never found, drawing worldwide media coverage. Staff also run a Penguin of the Month vote among the little penguins, with a public Penguin of the Year poll each October.
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