Newport Kentucky Aquarium

Date: June 24th 2014 Posted by: Tony Wootson

Introduction

Three weeks ago on Monday, June 2nd, I visited the Newport Aquarium. I was returning home from a modelling - (the type you build) - show titled Wonderfest. It takes place annually in Louisville, Kentucky. I always drive the just under 700 miles to this show and back, and usually my drives out there and back are straight-through. This is due to the very limited amount of time I tend to have off from school. This year, though I was able to schedule some additional time off, both for my trip out there, along with my return trip. When going out to Kentucky this year I wanted to slow the pace down a bit and do some sightseeing. My sightseeing turned out to be a visit (on my way home) to the Newport Aquarium.

Background

The Newport Aquarium is located in Newport, Kentucky, right across from Cincinnati, Ohio. It's located directly on the Ohio riverbank. (The Newport Aquarium is actually a "sister" aquarium with Camden's Adventure Aquarium). This aquarium is located an hour and a half from Louisville, (and roughly nine and one-half hours from the Philadelphia/South Jersey area). Mapquest's directions were spot-on in guiding me to the place. Upon arrival, I located a public parking lot - (which only cost $2.00). I paid the fare and walked 2 & 1/2 short blocks down to the Aquarium.

First Impressions

The building for the Newport Aquarium is really kewl!

As I mentioned, it is located right on the Ohio riverbank, and overlooks the Ohio River. The view of this river, along with Cincinnati was spectacular! I took some outside shots.

Inside

Right away I was impressed with set-up of the place. Included were tanks which showcased fish from all around the world. Many of these fish were ones you would regularly find in pet stores and hobbyist's personal tanks. There was a WHOLE LOT of VERY EDUCATIONAL information displayed about these fish - things like details of where they originate, along with the features and characteristics of their watery, natural environments. It was really nice seeing many of the fish I'm personally familiar with, housed with other indigenous species, in their natural environments. I learned quite a bit about many of them. It was also nice to see many of these fish in their adult sizes.

The First Room

The first room, located at the bottom of the escalator had a number of tanks set up. There were several tanks dedicated to African Cichlids found in the different Rift Lakes, along with one which focused on fish from the Congo River. There was one which housed fish from Australia, and an additional one which focused on the giant fish found in the Mekong River. Another one housed some of the fish found in the Amazon River, (specifically the Rio Negro).


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