In 1969, the Junior League of Corpus Christi and the Jaycees in that part of the state formed the Gulf Coast Zoological and Botanical Society with the goal of creating the Texas State Aquarium, a new aquarium in Texas' Corpus Christi area. They later changed their name to the Corpus Christi Aquarium Association, and even later named it the Texas State Aquarium Association and declared the proposed facility to be the "Official Aquarium of Texas.'' Construction began on the aquarium in 1988, and they opened their first building, the Gulf of Mexico Exhibit, in 1990.
Today, one of the most popular exhibits at the Texas State Aquarium is Dolphin Bay. This 400,000-gallon tank has three male dolphins that guests can view from a huge 70-foot window, as well as viewing areas above the water. They also have daily dolphin shows, and guests can sign up for the Deckside Dolphin Encounter of the dolphin Trainer for a Day program to get up close and personal to these creatures.
Along with the dolphin exhibit, the aquarium's otter exhibit is extremely popular. There, guests can see North American River Otters. These otters play with one another and interact with trainers throughout the day. Nearby, guests can see Tortuga Cay, home of the aquarium's sea turtles, along with The Floating Phantoms exhibit, the aquarium's 800-gallon tank featuring Pacific sea nettles, moon jellies, purple stripe jellies, and a number of other various jellyfish species.
One of the newest exhibits at the Texas State Aquarium is Eagle Pass. In 2009, this exhibit opened to feature raptors that were rescued and treated after injuries in the wild. The rocks in this exhibit are 60 feet high and mimic the wall of a canyon. They serve as a home for the zoo's three raptors, including Grace, an Alaskan bald eagle.
The original Gulf of Mexico exhibit has now become Islands of Steel, an exhibit that shows life around a gulf oil platform. The aquarium supports the Rigs to Reefs program, which advocates the existence of these platforms, even after companies are done using them. In the past, they were destroyed, which destroyed the habitat of the animals that had begun to live there. Some of the fish found in this huge indoor exhibit include green morays, spadefish, tarpons, sand tiger sharks, and nurse sharks. Many of these kinds of fish also appear in the Flower Gardens, a replica coral reef found in a 40,000-gallon tank. Other animals found in this part of the aquarium include French angelfish, cow-nose stingrays, porcupine fish, and barracuda. The aquarium has daily string ray feeding shoes for guests to see. Other daily shows include diving and hand-feeding the animals, the Wild Flight Show, and keeper chats at the otter, stingray, and reptile exhibits.
The Texas State Aquarium is open daily from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM from March 1 until Labor Day. During the winter, the aquarium closes and hour earlier, at 5:00 PM. You can buy tickets at the aquarium or online. Admission is free for members and costs $10.50 to $15.50, depending on age. There are also special discounts for members of the military and senior citizens. To learn more, visitors can call 361-881-1257.
