The Oregon Coast Aquarium has unveiled its newly renovated Rocky Coast gallery to the public.
Formerly known as Rocky Shores, the gallery is a fan-favorite Aquarium feature. The main attraction is its touch pool, where visitors enjoy volunteer-led, hands-on encounters with sea stars, urchins, anemones, and other intertidal species.
The touch pool was completely overhauled during the renovation, with accessibility at the forefront of its improvements. The pool’s wide outer ledge was reduced to a thin lip, so visitors of varying abilities can reach in with ease. Rockwork peeks through the water’s surface before sloping down, and windows inset along the sides let guests see, and feel, tidepool animals at different depths. Most notably, the pool is now doubled in size, allowing more visitors to get in touch with the Oregon coast.
The gallery also includes a novel habitat dedicated to the iconic giant Pacific octopus. The habitat’s current occupant is a large female GPO named Bunsen, who weighs an impressive 45lbs.
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