Here at the Discovery Centre guests will find a gallery packed with interactive exhibits, allowing them to get their hands wet and engage with many different animals.
The Discovery Centre is a favourite place for guests to find out more about the dynamics of the marine environment through play. Enjoy the sensation of a deep-sea dive in an interactive submarine without having to worry about getting wet. Young visitors can have fun with a trip down the iconic clownfish slide or play with a water table that replicates the complex lock system of the Great Lakes.
These iconic fish aren’t clowning around! Clownfish enjoy an extraordinary relationship with sea anemones. They take shelter among anemones to protect themselves from predators, while a layer of mucus protects them from the anemone’s stinging tentacles.
Palette surgeonfish are named after the black marking on their sides that resemble an artist’s palette. The surgeonfish can defend themselves in unique ways. Equipped with a sharp spine at the base of their tail, when threatened the surgeonfish can use this defence mechanism to inflict debilitating pain on predators.
Blacktip reef sharks are easily spotted by the characteristic black tips on their fins! Blacktips are not fussy eaters and can cope with a wide range of prey, including toxic, spined porcupinefish, stingrays, crustaceans, molluscs and sea snakes.
Swim on over to the world’s largest horseshoe crab touch tank and experience hands on interaction with some fascinating, ancient marine creatures. These prehistoric animals have lived in our oceans for over 450 million years, making them older than some dinosaurs!
Finding an ornate wobbegong is a challenge—you may not know one is there even if you are staring it in the face! These fish are among the most impressive of animals, with phenomenal camouflage and body shapes that combine to create an “invisibility cloak.” They simply blend into their environment and disappear.
Commonly mistaken for a leopard shark because of their colours, the zebra shark starts its life with distinct black and white bands resembling a zebra! As they mature, their stripes turn to spots.
Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada is designated as a Certified Autism Center by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES).
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