As the Seattle Aquarium’s ‘Ocean Pavilion’ opens, leaders push for more work to protect our oceans

SEATTLE — After years of planning, the Seattle Aquarium’s new Ocean Pavilion is finally open. The space brings 3,500 animals and plants to Seattle’s waterfront, including sharks, rays and mangroves.

Hundreds of people joined together Thursday to officially cut the ribbon to the new space and celebrate its impact on Seattle.

The Ocean Pavilion is the first major ticketed attraction to open as part of Seattle’s reimagined waterfront.

“You constantly see people walking and enjoying and stopping and spending money in shops,” said Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell. “The connectivity between the waterfront and our downtown area is going to be critical to getting our economic development back.”

While leaders acknowledged the excitement of opening the new space, they also stressed the importance of continuing conservation work to protect our oceans.

“If you were going to design a project to give us hope, inspiration and connection to our oceans that are so imperiled by climate change right now, it would be this aquarium, this Ocean Pavilion,” said Governor Jay Inslee.

It was a message driven home by renowned oceanographer and marine biologist Dr. Sylvia Earle, who has worked with the aquarium on the project and served as the keynote speaker during Thursday’s event.

“Respect the ocean as home for most of life on Earth,” she said. “It’s our home too. Without the ocean, we can’t exist.”

This new space will bring that message to eye level with the next generation of changemakers.

“It’s that interaction that’s hard to describe,” she said.

“It allows people to feel an emotional connection with the life that is under our oceans,” Inslee said. “You don’t get to see that on your commute to work every day.”

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