Top 10 Amazing Facts about National Aquarium Denmark


 

National Aquarium Denmark is a public aquarium in Denmark. Before the closing of the original aquarium in 2012, it was located in Charlottenlund. Most of the animals collected in the old Aquarium were relocated to the new and much larger aquarium called Den Blå Planet, the Blue Planet in Kastrup, in the suburb of Copenhagen.

 The National Aquarium Denmark was officially opened to the public in March 2013. It was ranked the largest aquarium in Northern Europe.

The Aquarium was constructed to disseminate marine information, help science projects, and help improve educational institutions.

Below are some of the top 10 amazing facts about National Aquarium Denmark:

1. The Former Denmark Aquarium was Opened in 1937

Original Denmark’s Aquarium which was located in Charlottenlund, construction started in 1937 and was officially opened to the public in 1939. In 1974The aquarium was expanded to host the large landscape aquaria and also the biological museum. However, it had theme-based exhibits and aquariums.

In 1990, further, expansions were done to the facility with a new front hall, a café, improved toilet facilities and also a schooler service. Before the closure of the aquarium, it had about 1,000,000 litres of water, which was in 70 aquarium tanks.

2. The New Aquarium was Designed by a Danish Architect

The new aquarium, Den Blå Planet, was opened in 2013 in Kastrup, near the suburb of Copenhagen. The Aquarium resembles a whirlpool when viewed from above.

The Aquarium which is close to the Copenhagen Airport was designed by Danish architects called 3XN. The building has cooling units which use seawater from Øresund and double glazing, to minimize energy consumption. The Aquarium covers an area of 12,000 m2 which includes the 10,000 m2 building and 2,000 m2 outdoors except for parking spaces.

3. The New Aquarium was Renovated in 2013

When the aquarium was opened in 2013, it received about 1.3 million visitors which was twice as expected. To accommodate every visitor and also improve public education, 12.5 million DKK which is approx. 2.3 million US$ was used on changes and renovations to the aquarium.

The Blue Planet of the aquarium has 7,000,000 litres of water. The new Aquarium was divided into 53 exhibits.

4. The Denmark Aquarium have a Rainforest Section

 

The rainforest in the Aquarium exhibits many habitats. The section served as a home to dwarf, the Philippine crocodiles, arowanas, pacus, the freshwater stingrays, large catfish, boa constrictors and the violet turaco.

This section also has a big school which is about 3,000–piranhas. In the rainforest there is a smaller grotto section, the section has aquaria for cave tetra, and it has various electric fish. The section also has other dark freshwater habitats.

5. The Aquarium Exhibits the Great Lakes of Africa

As part of its Exhibition, there are lakes such as lake Malawi, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Victoria. The main aim of this is to exhibit cichlids.

This Exhibition is also home to fish such as Nile perch which are highly predatory which makes them be separated from the Victoria cichlids by acrylic glass. It is also home to village weaver birds and other small animals.

6. Mangrove Aquarium

The mangrove. Author, News Oresund. WIKIMEDIA

The main aim of this aquarium is for fish evolution and adaption. The mangrove aquarium has four-eyed fish, archerfish and mudskippers.

It also has aquaria for Apalachicola snapping turtle and primitive fish such as bichir, gar and lungfish. The mangrove also hosts the oldest fish in the aquarium, it is an Australian lungfish. It arrived at Denmark’s Aquarium in Charlottenlund in 1967 as a young adult.

7. Has a Cold Water Section

Blue Planet Aquarium in Copenhagen, Denmark. Author Daniel. WIKIMEDIA

The cold water section in the National Aquarium is the home to the native Danish species, from fresh water and saltwater. The section has another part which includes the touch pool, and the large North Atlantic aquarium which has a 15 m tall seabird cliff. The North Atlantic aquarium is home to cod, wolffish, conger, puffin and other species.

The Non-native species in or near the Cold Water section include the giant Pacific octopus and the sea anemones. The section also hosts the California sea lions for a period. But were moved in 2014 to a permanent home at La Palmyre Zoo, France. The same year due to modifications, a pair of sea otters were moved to the former sea lion exhibit. This move made the aquarium among the three places where this species can be seen in Europe. The other places are Lisbon Oceanarium, Portugal and Oceanopolis in Brest, France.

8. The National Aquarium has a Warm Water Section

The warm water section has the largest aquarium on Blue Planet. It contains about 4,000,000-litre of water. The section is home to sharks such as the zebra shark, blacktip reef shark, wobbegongs and young scalloped hammerheads.

It also hosts stingrays, eagle rays, guitarfish, moray eels, golden trevallies and groupers. The section also has a 16 m long shark tunnel. The Ocean Tank has a 16 m long coral reef, which has living corals and reef fish.

The section also has smaller aquaria with species such as shrimpfish, weedy seadragon, seahorses, and a Mediterranean aquarium. There are also highly venomous stonefish, lionfish and olive sea snakes.

9. The Façade is Covered with Small Diamond Shaped Aluminum Shingles

National Aquarium Denmark, Kastrup, Denmark. Author Sandro Katalina. WIKIMEDIA

The National Aquarium Denmark’s façade is covered with at least 33,000 small diamond-shaped aluminium shingles. These shingles adapt to the building’s organic form.

The concept of the whirlpool was chosen to ensure that one or more whirlpool arms with relative ease cannot disrupt the building’s integrity and the operation of the aquarium. the whirlpool can also be extended by more than 30 % to create more exhibition space.

10. It is a Tourist Attraction Site

Sand tiger shark At Blue Planet Aquarium. Author Alan Pennington. WIKIMEDIA

Being the largest aquarium in Northern Europe. It attracts more tourists to the site both local and international.

The National Aquarium is ranked the best due to its rich exhibitions both local and international. And a home for more endangered species in the world. It is an education hub to many researchers in the country.