Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
19
ALWAYS SOMETHING NEW
THE LIVE EXHIBITS AND THE day-to-day operation of the Monterey
Bay Aquarium continued to improve during the years after opening.
As expected, attendance dropped to a more manageable level, settling
at around 1.7 million visitors a year, down from a hectic 2.3 million
the first year. We began to think of ways to keep the aquarium in the
public's eye and to give repeat visitors something new to see.
One section of the second floor of the aquarium had been left unde-
veloped for future use. The exhibits department came up with a series
of marine-related art shows to utilize that space—photographs and land-
scape and seascape paintings, chiefly. One presentation, “Humpback to
the Future: Star Trek at the Aquarium,” documented the filming of part
of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home at the aquarium. In the completed
film, computer-generated “virtual” humpback whales looked like they
were swimming in our tanks. They seemed so real that some visitors who
had seen the movie came to the aquarium expecting to see live whales.
These shows brought a few local people back, but they weren't a
major attraction.
A larger exhibit called “Whalefest” followed in 1988. Scattered like
a treasure hunt throughout the aquarium, this multipart exhibit fea-
tured the biology and behavior of the five species of giant whales found
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