Enlightenment and entertainment at Birch Aquarium

As visitors approach the entry plaza at the Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, they will see a pair of gray whales forever breaching in bronze. Even though the largest animals in the aquarium are sharks, gray whales can sometimes been seen from the Tidepool Plaza as they migrate between Alaska and Baja California.

Since 1903, Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) has offered an aquarium for the purpose of entertainment as well as for education. In 1992 a new facility was built on a hillside overlooking the SIO campus, and to the west, as far as the eye can see, the yawning Pacific Ocean. This aquarium has approximately sixty tanks, three interactive tidepools and a small museum.

The most impressive exhibit is the 70,000-gallon kelp tank in the center of the aquarium. The glass wall reaches as high as the ceiling and is about two feet thick. Inside the tank, giant kelp (which can grow to 100 feet) shelters many animals, among them sea bass, guitarfish and garibaldi. In this miniature ocean the population is so diverse that the aquarium provides seating so guests will be able to sit for long periods of time and watch the creatures glide through the forest of undulating kelp. Children step up to the glass and squeal with joy as they watch the sleek moves of the mysterious guitarfish or the intimidating swish of a moray eel.

The aquarium’s 13,000-gallon shark tank houses whitetip and blacktip reef sharks, wobbegongs and others. Inside the aquarium, a two-spotted octopus extends one long slender tentacle to the top of its tank – it sees the shadow of a child’s finger and thinks it is deserving of further exploration.

Octopuses are clever animals possessing a level of intelligence comparable to a housecat. The wily two-spotted octopus at the Birch Aquarium proved that theory one evening. She was able to open the Plexiglas top of her tank and slide into the aquarium next door for a tasty seafood smorgasbord. Now, the octopus is harbored in an enclosed tank and the frustrated boarder has to wait for her meals like everyone else.

The outdoor Tidepool Plaza offers one large pool and two smaller pools. It takes a greater power of observation to enjoy the small, and sometimes inactive, tidepool creatures; however, the experience will lead to a discovery of some amazing animals. The intertidal invertebrates such as sea urchins, giant keyhole limpets and chestnut cowries are able to move but do so rather sluggishly. Other creatures, such as the decorator crab and the sea hare, are more animated.

At the tidepool touch tanks volunteers explain the rules: “You may touch the animals, but please use only one finger, and please, no stroking or petting.” This rule is important because most of these animals grow a protective coating of mucus which, if destroyed, leaves the animal open to predators and disease. The animals in the touch tanks are gathered from the La Jolla area by divers and are removed from the tanks if they exhibit stress.

As a volunteer at the Birch Aquarium for five years, I learned that, although the staff promotes observation of the awesome antics of the sea creatures, there is also a deeper, more significant purpose to the aquarium. When Scripps Institution of Oceanography was founded, the staff believed that if the public saw and understood the wonders of the sea creatures, then they would work hard to preserve them. Thus, the exhibits at the aquarium are presented from an ecological preservation standpoint. The object is not just to entertain but to instill in visitors a feeling of responsibility to our oceans, and to our planet as a whole.

From the tidepools to the permanent scientific displays, Birch Aquarium employees and volunteers are devoted to sharing their vision of preservation with the world. “These are living creatures,” said one volunteer. “Please do not harm them, either here or in the wild.”

Birch Aquarium at Scripps

2300 Expedition Way

La Jolla

(858) 534-FISH

Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily

Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day