The Oklahoma Aquarium is 72,000-square-foot (6,700 m2) public aquarium built in 2002 and opened on May 28, 2003 in Jenks, a southern suburb of Tulsa.

The facility, designed by the architecture firm SPARKS and constructed by Ross Group, features eight exhibits including sites that focus on invertebrates, Oklahoma species, Ozark habitats, a coral reef, and sharks.

Exhibits:

AMAZING INVERTEBRATES
Invertebrates, or animals that have no backbone, are incredibly diverse, important, and fascinating. Invertebrates range greatly in size, with some that are smaller than a grain of salt and others can grow to half the length of a football field. Scientists estimate that invertebrates comprise 97% of all species on Earth and many are older than dinosaurs. Some of the earliest invertebrate fossils date back to 543 million years ago—a time when the entire state of Oklahoma was submerged by a sea known as the Western Interior Seaway. Today, you can appreciate (and touch) a variety of these prehistoric creatures in our Amazing Invertebrates exhibit. Here, you will find animals that digest food outside their bodies, animals that swim backwards, and animals with blue blood!

EXTREME FISHES
In every body of water, you’ll find fish with fascinating adaptations. Adaptations refer to the unique behaviors and/or body parts that animals develop to survive in their habitats. This may involve body shapes, colors, hunting strategies, defense tactics, and/or parental care. In our Extreme Fishes gallery you’ll be fascinated by fish swimming upside down, skipping on land, and eating with two pairs of jaws!

EXTREME AMAZON
The Extreme Amazon gallery is home to many animals with incredible adaptations. The 3,800-gallon freshwater tank in our Extreme Amazon gallery highlights the way some Amazon fish have adapted to life at certain depths of water. If you pay attention, you will notice fish swimming at the bottom of the tank have mouths that face downward, while fish swimming near the top have mouths that open toward the surface. Specialized jaw structures enable the fish to catch and eat whatever food is available in their habitat, so fish with mouths on the bottom can obtain food from the mud while fish with mouths that open upward are able to catch food at the surface. Extreme Amazon also features freshwater stingrays, a reptilian couple, and an external tunnel that gives kids a close-up view of the animals.

AQUATIC OKLAHOMA
The Sooner State may be landlocked but that doesn’t mean we are devoid of aquatic resources and wildlife. With more than 160,000 miles of rivers and streams and 1,401-square miles of lakes and ponds, Oklahoma is teeming with aquatic life. These freshwaters serve as habitats for many amphibians, reptiles, fish, and even some mammals. In our Aquatic Oklahoma gallery, you can learn about noodling, feed our smaller turtles, and visit an alligator snapping turtle that is older than Oklahoma itself!

SHARK ADVENTURE
The Oklahoma Aquarium is home to the world’s largest collection of bull sharks in the world. Ten of the “most dangerous sharks known to man” inhabit a 380,000-gallon saltwater tank and tunnel, along with three nurse sharks. This immersive exhibit allows visitors the chance to walk through tunnels beneath and alongside some of the most beautiful and deeply misunderstood creatures in the sea.

ECOZONE
Our Eco Zone gallery represents a single geographic area with several different types of habitats. From coral reefs to coastal marshes and beyond, this exhibit displays different types of “oceans’ nurseries,” as many of these habitats provide safe, shallow waters with plenty of hiding places. You will also find deep sea cave animals and colorful cichlids from Africa’s Lake Malawi.

POLYNESIAN REEF
With a myriad fish and flashy colors, our Polynesian Reef will transport you to an ocean paradise. This exhibit is designed to showcase the sea life of thousands of small, picturesque islands in the Western and South Pacific. With 65,000 gallons of saltwater, it’s the second largest tank in the Oklahoma Aquarium.

SEA TURTLE ISLAND
The 58,000-gallon tank in Sea Turtle Island is home to our loggerhead sea turtle and many other fish friends. The multi-leveled exhibit allows visitors to enjoy marine life from above and below; adventurous visitors can even go into an underwater observation station where they can come face-to-face with Sea Turtle Island’s inhabitants, such as a fish with a “beak,” and the hammerhead shark’s smallest cousin.

MARVELS & MYSTERIES
In this exhibit you’ll learn that fathers can give birth, animals can produce electricity, and fish can change sexes! Visit Marvels and Mysteries at 2 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to witness the creative and bizarre ways some of these fish eat their food.