The newest expansion for the Aquarium of Niagara will finally open this week.
Great Lakes 360 will have its grand opening to the public on Friday. The former Niagara Gorge Discovery Center will have a formal ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. Friday with local and state dignitaries.
“We’re very excited to share it with the community of Niagara Falls,” said aquarium President and CEO Chad Fifer.
The expansion was supposed to open at the beginning of June, but was pushed back a month due to construction delays.
The Discovery Center originally opened back in 1971 and closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the region’s geology and how Niagara Falls formed. It stands 500 feet from the aquarium where the Schoellkopf Power Station once stood.
The center will feature 15 new exhibits highlighting 30 species from both the Niagara River and the Great Lakes region, with turtles, fish, insects, reptiles and amphibians. It will be the largest expansion in the aquarium’s history, increasing the number of exhibits by 40%.
Some planned exhibits include a fishing simulator to identify the fish that live in the Great Lakes and ones based around sound and smell.
The main donut-shaped space has a capacity of 75 people, with test walkthroughs having people stay as little as 15 minutes and up to an hour in the building.
“There will be a decent turnout,” Fifer said, expecting lines outside. He also hopes this changes public perception about a lack of new things at the aquarium and gets them to see what has changed over the past few years.
The $5 million project was first announced back in December 2022, when Empire State Development awarded $1 million in grant funding through Market NY for programming and aquarium promotion efforts. Other funding sources include a $900,000 Cataract Grant Fund award, another $675,000 ESD grant, and appropriations from the State Assembly.
Since this is the aquarium’s first foray into having a multi-site campus, Great Lakes 360’s operating hours will differ from the aquarium’s. It will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays through Thursdays and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.