Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA)

The Association of Zoos & Aquariums was established in 1924. Known simply as AZA, the organization is not for profit. It is dedicated to ensuring all of the animals at the various zoos & aquariums have the very best elements in place. They have strict guidelines for the way these animals are to be cared for. They offer their accreditation only to those locations that continually strive to follow or exceed those guidelines. 

Fishes in Aquarium (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This type of accreditation is very important. People that visit zoos and aquariums are very interested in the efforts for wildlife conservation. They won’t frequent a place that doesn’t uphold the very best of standards. Not having such an accreditation can prevent a zoo or aquarium from getting the animals they want. This can result in lower attendance too because they don’t have the main attractions that appeal to large audiences.

The AZA is also very involved in educational programs that promote the well being of animals. They like to make people of all ages more aware of the impact that animals have on our own lives. They want them to be aware of how their own actions can be a positive or negative impact on such animals. This is why so many zoos and aquariums allow schools to bring in bus loads of children for field trips on a regular basis. The images of what is taking place and the educational materials can be planted into their young minds for them to carry with them as they become adults.

AZA takes any complaints from employees and guests at zoos & aquariums very seriously. They will take the time to look into such issues and explore the options for effectively resolving them. They will also randomly send representatives out to the various zoos & aquariums to make sure they are indeed doing thing correctly.

AZA continues to develop and implement better ways to house the animals at zoos & aquariums. They want to give them the best environment to live in that is reflective of their own. They also want to ensure people are able to get a good view of these animals. Safety is a very important part of making sure both people and animals can enjoy the atmosphere at a zoo &  aquarium.

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Take a Dive Into a Marine Wonderland - MELBOURNE AQUARIUM

Dive into a wonderland of underwater fun, while at the Melbourne Aquarium. Commonly known as MAQ to locals this wondrous attraction is the most recent addition to the school of aquariums in Australia as well as the most state-of-the-art.

Melbourne Aquarium view near the Queens Bridge (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Melbourne Aquarium is home to over ten thousand exotic sea creatures and synonymous with the MAQ tagline, there is "Always Something New to Sea". Home to many beautiful animals, the main attractions of the Melbourne Aquarium's Underwater Zoo are the King & Bentoo Penguins and Broadnose Sevengill & Grey Nurse Sharks. Other splendid sea creatures include Weedy Seadragons, Big Bellied Seahorses, Eleven Armed Sea Stars, Green Moray Eels, Moon Jellies and much more.

This marine wonderland in Melbourne includes an array of activities for visitors. A truly amazing journey, the Melbourne Aquarium offers a complete interactive experience to visitors, both young and old. With group tours for every age and category be it a group, senior visitors, corporate tours, family tours or even glass bottom tours, MAQ has it all for you. If you prefer a more interactive, take a dive with the sharks and other marine creatures or even indulge in 'Hands on Activities'. The Melbourne Aquarium also offers educational programs for Kindergarten children and adults, such as "An Aquarist for a Day", "Smart Water", "A Watery World in your Classroom", "Melbourne Aquarium's Underwater Zoo IMAX adventure" and much more.

Apart from the interactive activities and educational programs, the Melbourne Aquarium Underwater Zoo has more to offer. Partake in the 360 degree Oceanarium filled with sharks stingrays and walk through the tunnels while viewing the live feeding session occurring twice a day. Also, indulge in the likes of the Great Barrier Reef display, Australian Billabongs, touch tanks and simulator rides to thrill each and everyone one.

This wondrous location offers an array of function spaces to host functions along while in the company of marvellous sea creatures. Whether it is the Fishbowl or the Coral Atoll, or even the entire aquarium, guests are sure to experience an event like no other.

Taking visitors to a land like no other, the Melbourne Aquarium and its Underwater Zoo truly offers a marine wonderland to indulge on while in Melbourne. With serviced apartments such as the Somerset Gordon Place, indulge in the comfort and warmth of staying in Melbourne serviced residence catering to all your needs and wants and visit the many attractions nearby.

By Naveen Marasinghe Naveen Marasinghe is an e-marketing executive at eMarketingEye(Private) Ltd. eMarketingeEye is an search engine marketing company offering integrated Internet marketing solutions, specializing in serving the online travel and hospitality industry. Article Source: EzineArticles

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BEIJING (Peking) AQUARIUM

Covering an area of 120,000 square meters, Beijing Aquarium is the biggest aquarium equipped with the most advanced facilities in Asia, and it is located in Beijing Zoo with Beijing Exhibition Center and Beijing Planetarium to the south, which combines recreation, popular science education with tourism perfectly as one.

"Beijing aquarium". Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Commons.

The aquarium is trumpet shell-shaped with blue and orange colors as background, fully representing the vast ocean and the infinite vitality of the marine creatures, and there are over 50,000 fishes available in the aquarium. Beijing Aquarium is composed of six theme exhibition areas, namely, the Tropical Forest Wonder, the Touch Pool, the Undersea Loop, the Shark Hall, the Dolphin-Whale Bay and the Oceanic Theater.

It seems as if you were in the mysterious Amazon Primitive Forest when walking past the winding path, vivid rockery, tumbling waterfalls, the old bridges, the gentle streams and exotic sculptures in the Tropical Forest Wonder, and there are 22 tanks collecting different kinds of fishes from the oceans and the freshwater rivers scattering among the "forest" and "rocks", including Blood parrot fish, sea elephants, giant salamanders, and anglerfishes. The simulated coastline in the Touch Pool is 48 meters long, where you can touch various marine creatures in person, including sea hedgehogs, sea anemones, starfish, soldier crabs and horseshoe crabs, and you can also walk on the "white sand beach" and listen to the murmuring of the sea waves here.

The main exhibits in the Shark Hall include white-tip sharks, tiger sharks, white sharks and Carcharhinus melanopterus, where the interactive activities are available at regular time in the forms of Man Dancing with Sharks and Feeding Sharks, creating an happy atmosphere for the visitors. The Dolphin-Whale Bay is the home to many marine creatures, where the clever dolphins practice their dancing postures and the clumsy sea lions play with the balls, receiving one ripple of laughter after another from the visitors.

The Oceanic Theater affords a romantic Hawaii-style seafront view and it can accommodate 3,000 visitors, which is the favourite of the children, and the main performances include Rocket & Flying Man Performance (two dolphins lifting men to a great height with their mouths as if launching a rocket), Dolphins Dancing with Man Performance and Dolphin Heading Balls.

The attractions nearby Beijing Aquarium include Beijing Zoo, Great Awakening Temple, the Phoenix Mountain, Capital Indoor Stadium, the Fragrant Hill Park, the Ruins of Yuanming Garden (the Old Summer Palace), Azure Cloud Temple, Chinese Millennium Monument and Baiwangshan Forest Park.

By Young M Qingwei I am a professional writer to write articles on tourism, and more information about Beijing Travel and Beijing Aquarium are available in my service. Please free free to ask any question on tourism, and your questions are always welcome. Article Source: EzineArticles

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