Sea Life London Aquarium

Sea Life London Aquarium is a public aquarium in London, England, located in County Hall on the South Bank of the River Thames. Opened in 1997, it has been part of the Sea Life chain since 2009 and is operated by Merlin Entertainments. It forms part of a cluster of attractions, including the London Eye, London Dungeon, and DreamWorks Tours: Shrek’s Adventure!, the aquarium receives more than one million visitors annually.

WWW visitsealife.com/london 𝕏 london_aquarium

History

In 2005, the aquarium displayed three robot fish created by the computer science department at the University of Essex. The fish were designed to be autonomous, swimming around and avoiding obstacles like real fish. Their creator claimed that he was trying to combine "the speed of tuna, acceleration of a pike, and the navigating skills of an eel."
In April 2008, the aquarium was purchased by Merlin Entertainments for an undisclosed sum. The facility was closed for a £5 million refurbishment, and reopened as part of the Sea Life chain in April 2009. The additions included a new underwater tunnel, Shark Walk, a revamped Pacific Ocean tank, and a complete rerouting of the exhibit, all of which were carried out under the supervision of architect Kay Elliott.
In May 2011, the aquarium opened a new penguin exhibit, with 10 gentoo penguins transferred from the Edinburgh Zoo. In 2015, the aquarium was moved to a different location in County Hall due to the opening of Shrek's Adventure, London.

Conservation and education

The aquarium includes two classrooms themed around the conservation campaigns which the zoo supports, which host up to 40,000 school children each year and are open to the public when not in use by the education programme. It is involved in several breeding programmes including the Cuban crocodile, seahorses, butterfly goodeids, and jellyfish, and works with many conservation organisations including Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society and Shark Trust.