Monterey Bay Aquarium is reopening after COVID closure: ‘We are super excited’
Here’s some good news for Monterey Bay Aquarium fans.
The popular oceanfront venue is reopening its doors after being shuttered for 14 months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium reopens to members May 1 and to all guests on May 15, according to details posted Tuesday on the nonprofit organization’s website.
Popular exhibits at the aquarium, which closed to the public in March 2020, include sharks, penguins, jellyfish and a two-story sea otter tank. The strikingly designed building offers sweeping views of Monterey Bay and the bay’s eponymous national marine sanctuary.
After the aquarium reopens, advance reservations will be required. Members can reserve tickets starting at 9 a.m. April 26; anybody can make reservations starting at 9 a.m. May 5.
A limited number of guests will be allowed to be in the aquarium at one time.
COVID-19 safety precautions will be mandatory, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
All guests ages 3 and older must wear face coverings over their mouth and nose.
Attendees in one family or household group must stay at least 6 feet away from guests in other parties and aquarium staff. People will tour the facility along a one-way path, and reentry won’t be allowed once a guest leaves the building.
Hand sanitizing stations are available throughout the facility.
Guests will be able to order online from the aquarium’s café, and the dining area has been spaced to keep adequate distance between groups.
“We are super excited about having people back in the building,” Julie Packard, the aquarium’s executive director, told the Monterey Herald. “It’s not just right to have the building be empty.”
According to the Monterey Herald, the facility drew roughly 2 million visitors a year to Monterey’s Cannery Row prior to the pandemic-caused closure.
During the pandemic, the publication reported, the aquarium suffered a major financial setback.
To offset $55 million in losses over the past year, aquarium managers laid off about 40% of their staff of about 560 people to conserve enough money to continue to properly care for the animals and maintain the facilities, the Herald said.
Packard said the animals are doing well.
“There’s no way to ask them,” she said. “But it would appear they are thriving. The ones that have a lot of human interaction like the sea otters and the penguins, they are very excited and interested whenever you are in the building and come up to them.”
For more details about the Monterey Bay Aquarium reopening, go to montereybayaquarium.org/visit/welcome-back.
Central Coast Aquarium reopens
The Monterey Bay Aquarium isn’t the only local aquarium to open its doors
On March 11, the Central Coast Aquarium reopened at 50 San Juan St. in Avila Beach.
The facility is open noon to 3 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and 1 to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. COVID-19 precautions must be observed.
The Central Coast Aquarium will hold a special family celebration from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, including hot dogs and games. For details, go to centralcoastaquarium.com.
This story was originally published March 30, 2021 at 11:40 AM with the headline "Monterey Bay Aquarium is reopening after COVID closure: ‘We are super excited’."
