Blue Zoo Aquarium is set for its opening debut on Thursday, April 1, after six months of constructing dynamic exhibits and underwater habitats for hundreds of sea species.
The Mall of Louisiana welcomed Blue Zoo to Baton Rouge with an announcement in September 2020, noting that the company had visited numerous cities and chosen Baton Rouge as its next site.
Blue Zoo will vibrantly occupy 16,000-square-feet of first-floor exhibit space inside the Mall of Louisiana between the men’s and women’s Dillard’s.
Wes Haws, the exhibits’ founder and chief executive officer is bringing a refreshing diversity of sea life to the Baton Rouge area with over 30 unique attractions featuring sharks, jellyfish, and river giants! Guests will have the opportunity to touch, feed, and interact with stingrays, urchins, starfish, reptiles, and birds.
“We see children ever day become emersed in this underwater world of creatures, most of which they have only seen in books or in animated videos,” says Haws. “It is an exceptional and exhilarating learning experience.”
Haws’ story is harrowing and inspiring. Haws opened his first Blue Zoo attraction in Washington in August 2019 and his second in Oklahoma City the following month. Haws was inspired after suffering a traumatizing head injury while running a project to build homes in Ethiopia. After undergoing multiple brain surgeries and being left partially blind, Haws regained motivation when he put a fish tank in his bedroom to assist him through his emotional recovery. Haws said he “loved learning about the science and chemistry behind keeping a salt-water tank happy and healthy,” and hopes “you can be inspired and healed,” like he was “by these amazing animals, by learning about them, and interacting with them.”
Day passes for adults can be purchased for $16, and children for $13. Blue Zoo’s Interactive Aquarium offers an educational and imaginative experience for families to enjoy all year long, including multiple water play tables, and dive shows featuring mermaids and pirates! Unlimited annual family-passes are also available for $199. Field trips are welcome with reservations: teachers are free, $6 per student and $9.99 per parent.
Email info@bluezoo.us to get more information on the exciting attractions and opportunities this unique educational learning exhibit brings to Baton Rouge and surrounding Louisiana communities. Go to bluezoo.us to see some of the underwater attractions and to purchase tickets online.
