Places to go > County Down > Exploris Aquarium < Zoos & Wildlife < Things to do

Zoos & Wildlife Parks: Anglesey Sea Zoo, Wales Exploris Aquarium, N. Ireland Welsh Mountain Zoo, Wales ................................................. _________________________________

County Down attractions: Castle Ward Down Cathedral Down County Museum Dundrum Castle Exploris Aquarium Giant's Ring Grey Abbey Inch Abbey Legananny Dolmen Mount Stewart House & Gardens Nendrum Monastic Site North Down Heritage Centre Ulster Folk & Transport Museum ................................................. _________________________________

Exploris Aquarium Portaferry, Co. Down, BT22 1NZ, UK. Tel. +44 (0) 28 4272 8062

Exploris Aquarium is located in Portaferry, on the shores of Strangford Lough, in County Down.

Exploris opened in 1994 (it was formerly the Northern Ireland Aquarium), and soon became an exceptionally popular visitor attraction. It contains a great variety of marine life from Strangford Lough (a Marine Nature Reserve) and from the Irish Sea. Massive glass tanks house the different species of fish and sea creatures, while the aquarium's touch tanks enable visitors to stroke living marine animals, including rays, starfish and sea anemones. The largest tank in the aquarium holds 250 tonnes of sea water, and recreates the 'open sea', with sharks and conger eels lurking in its depths.

There are also exhibitions and an interactive gallery, which provide further information about the creatures and their habitats. Strangford Lough has the largest colony of common seals in Ireland, and Exploris is home to an open-air Seal Sanctuary, where sick or abandoned seals are cared for and rehabilitated back into the wild. The seal hospital is busiest during June and July, and between September and December.

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Zoos and Wildlife parks in our Wildlife park section:

Anglesey sea zoo
Exploris aquarium
Welsh mountain zoo

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