AZA-accredited Adventure Aquarium in Camden, New Jersey, which is owned and run by Herschend Family Entertainment, was voted a Top 4 aquarium in the country by USA Today in 2023.
This summer saw ‘real life’ mermaids diving among the aquarium’s sharks in a fantastical festival which ran from 1 – 18 June, in which Adventure Aquarium offered guests the chance to make memories as they explored the mermaid world both underwater and above the surface.
Offerings included mermaid and pirate-themed crafts and edible treats. There was also an opportunity to interact and take photos with mermaids in front of a movie-screen-sized window and enjoy fin-tastic views of the 550,000-gallon shark and ray exhibit.
Earlier this month, the aquarium also welcomed its newest resident, a male bottlenose wedgefish named Pepper Jack. The critically endangered inhabitant is now at home in the facility’s 760,000-gallon Ocean Realm exhibit.
Herschend & Adventure Aquarium
Molly Deese is senior vice president of the Attractions Management Division for the Adventure Aquarium’s parent company, Herschend.
“When I was a little girl, I never said, ‘One day, I’m going to be running an aquarium’, or, in my case, even a theme park. I kind of fell into it. I was in college, and I needed an internship for my major,” she tells blooloop. She was paying her way through college, so it needed to be a paying internship.
“My options were a little limited at that point,” she says. “I had some friends that were working in a theme park: Kings Dominion in Richmond, Virginia. I did my junior year of college and did an internship there in the food and beverage area. From there, I went on to a sister park in Charlotte, North Carolina, and was in the food area there. A great opportunity came up to go even farther south, so I did.”
She kept going South, and ended up with Herschend in South Georgia:
“People ask me where exactly in South Georgia, and I tell them, as far as you can go in Georgia right before you get to Florida. At this particular property, we had rollercoasters, a waterpark, and we also had animals. I worked my way from revenue director to operations director and was ultimately promoted to general manager.”
See also: Vancouver Aquarium: a bright future with Herschend Enterprises
A fascinating world
Then right after COVID, the Adventure Aquarium position became open.
“Herschend Family Entertainment has a very diverse portfolio. In looking at my future career plans, I recognized that I did not have any aquarium experience. And I knew this was a unique opportunity to sharpen my skillset. So, I came to Adventure Aquarium and became the executive director.”
From that point she was promoted to senior vice president of Herschend’s attractions management division:
“This includes oversight of Adventure Aquarium, and Newport Aquarium, as well as Wild Adventure theme park.”
Commenting on the aquarium sector, she says:
“It’s a fascinating world. I learned how much I didn’t know. Everyone says the greatest job is the job where you’re continually learning. For me, going into this aquarium world has been huge in that I learn something new every day. That is a great opportunity to have. It’s also tied in with ocean conservation. So, that means not only do I learn something every day, but I truly feel like I’m making a difference.
“My team is not only making an impact on the animals that we care for here but also on the world we live in.”
The history of Adventure Aquarium
Adventure Aquarium opened its doors to the public on 29 February 1992 after five years of planning and building. The Aquarium’s first major exhibit, Open Ocean (now Ocean Realm) featured 760,000 gallons of water and more than 50 species of fish, all of which could be found off the coast of New Jersey.
Thirty years later, Adventure Aquarium has grown to hold two million gallons of water with over 7,000 species of fish.
Deese comments on highlights of its journey:
“In 2004, the aquarium went through a major expansion doubling its size. At that point, it was still the New Jersey State Aquarium. Once that expansion was completed, it was renamed Adventure Aquarium in 2005. It was in 2007 that Herschend Family Entertainment acquired Adventure Aquarium. Since then, it’s been a great journey.”
Home to sharks, penguins and more
Adventure Aquarium is home to over 15,000 aquatic animals, housed throughout more than 2 million gallons of water.
“We have some iconic animals,” Deese says. “The aquarium has the largest collection of sharks in the Northeast. We have a great hammerhead shark, we have sandbar sharks, sand tiger sharks, and Pacific Blacktip reef sharks, to name a few.”
“We have two species of warm weather penguins: African penguins, and the smallest species of penguin, the little blue penguins. Also, we have probably my favourite animal – not that I have favourites, of course – we have two hippos. Interestingly, the Adventure Aquarium is the only place in the world where hippos are on exhibit in an aquarium.”
Guests are afforded a unique view of these deceptively graceful creatures via an underwater viewing window.
Conservation at Adventure Aquarium
Regarding conservation partnerships, Deese says:
“We do a lot at Adventure Aquarium. Something that we pride ourselves on is that we are constantly trying to find ways to make a difference. As part of our 30th birthday celebration last year, we committed to raising $30,000 to support our conservation and community partners. And we met that goal before the year was over. So, we have now made the commitment to raise that goal to $50,000.”
“Then, specifically, we participate in a number of conservation activities and initiatives that really make a difference.”
This includes the Delaware Bay Horseshoe Crab Survey. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Horseshoe Crab Management Plan established an annual spawning study along the coasts of Delaware Bay in October 1998. Because a volunteer spawning survey in Delaware Bay had been in place since 1990, the ASMFC decided to continue it with new statistical assistance from the United States Geological Service (USGS).
Every May and June during the full and new moon evening high tides, volunteers donate their time to count crabs on the beaches of the Delaware Bay in both Delaware and New Jersey.
Protecting coral, combatting illegal imports and supporting butterflies
Adventure Aquarium also contributes to the Florida Coral Reef Tract Rescue project. This aims to save what is left of Florida’s healthy coral stocks. The aquarium is one of 19 AZA institutions that committed to being a long-term holding facility until corals are ready to be placed back in the wild. Adventure Aquarium has three dedicated systems with 70+ colonies representing 11 species.
In addition, the attraction is a part of the Feathers for Native Americans initiative. This is a not-for-profit feather distribution program that collects moulted feathers and donates them to the Pueblo Indians of the Southwest for use in their customs and traditions.
Donating moulted Macaw and Parrot feathers can eliminate sellers of illegally imported feathers from Central and South America that are hunting and killing Wild Macaws and Parrots for profit.
As a program partner of AZA SAFE: Monarch Butterflies, and a grant recipient of the 2022 AZA Party for the Planet Grant, Adventure Aquarium has also planted a native plant butterfly garden in Penguin Park in collaboration with Camden Urban Agriculture Collaborative (CUAC) and Summersweet Native Plants, which aims to bring native pollinator butterfly gardens to established community gardens in Camden and to Camden City families’ backyards.
These gardens create habitat connectivity throughout the city of Camden to help feed and support the monarch butterfly migration. Camden residents and Adventure Aquarium guests can track wildlife observations in these gardens using the Adventure Aquarium’s Pollinator Project iNaturalist Bioblitz.
River cleanups
Adventure Aquarium also organises microplastic sampling as a community science study aimed at assessing and analysing microplastic concentrations on beaches along the Jersey Shore, in partnership with Save Coastal Wildlife, the Plastic Wave Project, and Save Barnegat Bay.
Plus, it organises regular Delaware River cleanups from April-October each year, inviting volunteers from the Aquarium, Center for Aquatic Sciences, and other local businesses to join together and remove trash from the Delaware River, preventing trash from making its way to the oceans. Each year, Adventure Aquarium removes more than 1,000 lbs. of trash from local waterways.
Deese comments:
“Not everybody on our staff can necessarily participate in the Florida Coral Reef Project because that requires a level of expertise. But everyone, myself included, can go out and clean up trash and reduce the plastic that we have even in our local waterway. It’s so very important to us to be a part of the communities we serve.”
Conservation messaging at Adventure Aquarium
In terms of connecting people with conservation messaging and education, she says:
“It’s exciting because, through the experience at the aquarium, we do that every day. The key thing is engaging our guests, and doing it in a fun way.
“I have three children. I know if I told them when they were young that we were going to go and learn educational stuff about conservation, they would roll their eyes at me and be like, ‘Mom, no.’ But if I said that we were going to the aquarium, they’d be excited. Little do they know, while they’re at Adventure Aquarium, through our educational talks about animals, our onsite activities with the kids, and our close-up interactive encounters, they’re learning all the time.”
“One of our neatest exhibits shows how dangerous plastic bags are to sea turtles. Sea turtles eat jellyfish. Often, sea turtles will eat plastic bags, thinking they’re jellyfish. We have an exhibit which contains jellyfish, but it also has a plastic bag. This helps to show our guests how confusing that could be to a sea turtle.
“For us, it’s an interesting way to message the importance of recycling and not using plastic, and kids find it fascinating. A lot of our messaging is conveyed through immersive experiences, and the opportunity to get very up close and personal with our animals. By creating these close emotional connections, we are encouraging our guests to protect and conserve these wonderful species.”
Animal encounters
To this end, the aquarium offers sea turtle encounter sessions, hippo encounters, an in-water shark and ray encounter, a wild thing encounter, a penguin encounter, and a general behind-the-scenes experience. These insights and the connections forged achieve far more in terms of encouraging an understanding of the importance of conservation than lectures could, Deese believes.
“I have done a shark and ray encounter,” she says. “I really enjoyed it. It was just fabulous to get that close to a shark. The encounters are with our biologists, and what you learn about these animals during a session is incredible. They are so knowledgeable about their fields and so passionate, and that’s contagious.”
The aquarium is also using technology in several ways to engage guests:
“We have an audio tour throughout the aquarium. We did that in conjunction with the Association for Zoos and Aquariums’ Party for the Planet, as a grant that we received. Technology can be really fun. We have a Virtual Reality experience where all ages can experience sharks, whales, squid, and even a cartoon Mermaid.”
Inclusivity at Adventure Aquarium
Adventure Aquarium is committed to inclusivity. It has partnered with KultureCity to improve its capacity to assist and accommodate guests with sensory needs, providing an inclusive and seamless experience for all guests for all events.
Team members are supplied with ongoing training, and a number of accommodations are offered to guests. This includes Sensory Bags containing special KCVIP badges, fidget tools, noise-cancelling headphones and other resources. Weighted lap pads are also available upon request. Signage throughout the aquarium indicates ‘Headphone Zones’, or louder areas, where guests might benefit from wearing their noise-cancelling headphones if needed.
The aquarium’s multi-use Nursing and Family Room can be used as a private quiet space for guests experiencing sensory overload. The Social Story and KultureCity All-Inclusive App can be used to help guests with sensory issues further.
Finding a balance
In terms of the aquarium’s growth, Deese adds:
“As we expand we’re always exploring how we can improve on our exhibits, looking at anywhere we can add new species while educating our guests. We are constantly looking for ways to improve through reinvestment into the property.”
In closing, she adds:
“It can be a balance, trying to make sure we’re a great family day out, but the real priority for us is the welfare of those animals in our care. If the animal doesn’t want to come out or doesn’t want to be visible to guests, then that’s okay. Part of our function is educating our guests on the natural behaviours of these animals. We will talk about the way some of our animals like to hide away occasionally.
“It’s important to educate people, and for them to realise that these are natural behaviours. The welfare of the animals, and the conservation of the animals and their habitats, is of the utmost importance.”
All images kind courtesy of Adventure Aquarium
