Oklahoma Aquarium, Jenks, Oklahoma, USA
With more than 100 exhibits and thousands of animals, you are sure to discover amazing aquatic creatures of all kinds. Whether you’re petting stingrays, feeding turtles or walking under the shark tunnel, you will come away with memories of a lifetime.
The Oklahoma Aquarium is 72,000-square-foot public aquarium built in 2002 and opened on May 28, 2003 in Jenks, a southern suburb of Tulsa.
The facility, designed by the architecture firm SPARKS and constructed by Ross Group, features eight exhibits including sites that focus on invertebrates, Oklahoma species, Ozark habitats, a coral reef, and sharks.
The aquarium also formerly housed the Karl and Beverly White National Fishing Tackle Museum, a major collection of 30,000 pieces of antique fishing tackle donated by Karl White. Mr. White withdrew his collection in 2010.
In July 2003, Discovery Channel’s naturalist and filmmaker Nigel Marven (along with crew) documented four bull sharks at home in the architecturally innovative half-million gallon tank. The resulting shots and commentary were featured in the 2003 edition of Discovery Channel’s Shark Week series.
The Oklahoma Aquarium receives part of the funding of the 1 cent county sales tax approved in 2005 by voters under Vision 2025. The state legislature has authorized a specialty Oklahoma Aquarium license plate option with some of the fees going to support the facility.
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