SEA LIFE Aquarium opened Tuesday in what was the Joske's department store at the Shops at Rivercenter on East Commerce.
The attraction contains 200,000 gallons of water with 3,000 creatures, including sharks and stingrays.
Aquarium marketing manager — Chase Hathaway — said the must see is a 50-foot-long walk-through ocean tunnel.
It has 1,000 creatures in it, including an 8-foot zebra shark swimming overhead.
Hathaway said parts of the attraction are very interactive.
"We have multiple tanks that you can get up close to and inside of actually. One of them you can actually climb inside the exhibit and be face to face with some beautiful lion fish," he said.
One young visitor, Hope Chalupecky, wore a T-shirt that read "We Mermaid to be Friends." She was in a section of the aquarium where guests can touch the animals. And she had some advice.
"Just be careful with the purple urchins, they are of kind of sharp," she said.
She said her favorite thing to see were seahorses that can camouflage themselves and cling to things.
The aquarium, which is located next to LEGOLAND, is open most days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Guests are encouraged to get tickets in advance at visitsealife.com, especially going at peak times, like on weekends.
Admission is $23.99, but a combo ticket that gets visitors into both attractions is $37.99.
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