The fourth level of the National Aquarium’s main building on Pier 3 is closed for renovations until early April.
Directors announced on the aquarium’s website that two habitats in the ‘Blue Wonders’ section of the building will be closed to viewing by the public while the renovation work is underway. They are: ‘North Atlantic to Pacific,’ which takes visitors on a simulated journey from the rocky cliffs of the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coral reef, and ‘Amazon River Forest,’ which portrays an Amazon tributary in three stages of seasonal flooding.
Also closed during the renovation period is the Harbor View Room with a window wall that faces Baltimore’s downtown skyline and the restrooms on Level 4.
The building opened at 501 E. Pratt St. in August 1981. The aquarium website notes that bypass routes are in place so visitors can still gain access to the popular ‘Upland Tropical Rain Forest’ exhibit beneath the aquarium’s rooftop pyramid and the “Atlantic Coral Reef’ ramps on the south end of the building. Guests may need to climb between one and three flights of stairs to get to the Rain Forest exhibit.
Staffers are available on-site to help with wayfinding and accessibility accommodations. Other parts of the aquarium campus, including the free Harbor Wetland exhibit between Inner Harbor Piers 3 and 4, remain open and unaffected by the renovation work. More information is at aqua.org.
