Let me start by saying the New York Aquarium’s new shark exhibit is awesome!

I visited the aquarium this weekend for the grand opening of the exhibit, named Ocean Wonders: Sharks!  The exhibit has been closed since 2011.

I highly recommend buying your tickets online and either printing or downloading your ticket to your mobile device before getting there because cellular service is less reliable the closer you get to the beach.  You can’t avoid lines at the aquarium, however, the ticket-holders line move considerably faster than the ticket-buying line.

When you get past the admission station, the first thing you see is are the inhabitants of Glover’s Reef.  My favorite is the Cownose Ray.  I love watching her glide ever so gracefully in the water.  The place is swarming with kids. You hear screams and giggles, oohs and aahs, and parents pointing out Nemo to their little ones.  It’s dark in there, which makes it easier to see the residents in all their shapes and colors, but the darkness also entices you to imagine yourself underwater.

When you come out of Glover’s Reef and go left, you might see the seals, the sea otters, and the penguins in Sea Cliffs. You may even hear reggaeton playing, which means Osborne and company are performing in the Aquatheater.

Straight ahead is a large, bluish-grey tower boldly labeled “SHARKS!”

That’s the place! This is what I, ahem, we have been anticipating for a long time. Finally!

Your imagination is engaged the moment you enter the round lobby space with bubbles floating upwards projected on the walls.  Again, there is that illusion of being underwater.

Moving ahead I found myself in a tunnel with sharks and other aquatic friends moving overhead and on either side of me.

The most spectacular thing that grabbed my attention was the colors of the coral reef. It’s amazing!  Honestly, television documentaries do no justice to the eye candy you encounter and there are no words to truly capture what you are seeing.  The colors are vibrant and alive!  You really do have to see it for yourself.

As you continue, there are various stations to learn more about the sharks as well as smaller windows to the world under the sea.  Then you walk into a large, dark room with a very large floor-to-ceiling window with the most breathtaking view.  This is Canyon’s Edge.  The view of sharks swimming about alongside a Cownose Ray and schools of fish is mesmerizing.  Watching these animals drift and glide along has a calming and stimulating effect on the senses.  I could sit there for hours.

On the roof, there is a touch pool where you can touch the sharks.  I didn’t get to experience that, considering how hot and crowded it was that day, but it is definitely on my list of to-dos.  There is also the Oceanview Bites where you can satisfy the appetite you just worked up while enjoying a beautiful ocean view.

It’s exciting seeing the New York Aquarium transformed and I’m looking forward to its continuing evolution.