NEWPORT, Ky. — A brand new exhibit opens Friday, March 3 at Newport Aquarium. Hatchling Harbor brings a new ecosystem and new animals—especially babies—to the aquarium.

One of the first things visitors will see is a giant pier and a gigantic tank containing a 25-foot Caribbean seagrass habitat. 

What You Need To Know

  •  Hatchling Harbor exhibit opens March 3

  • The exhibit features a giant pier and a 25-foot seagrass habitat 

  •  One of the fan-favorites of the exhibit is sure to be the babies

  • Newport Aquarium hopes visitors will keep coming back to see the babies grow-up

Matt Duda, with the aquarium’s communications department, can often be found on the “sea floor” of Hatchling Harbor. Here, people can look up at the pier and imagine what life is like under the sea.

“That allows us to present different habitats in this one single exhibit,” Duda said.

Hundreds of animals, including babies, are in this habitat. A year and a half of work went into making this exhibit come to life. The goal is to show people a lot of different organisms and tell share the stories that many haven’t heard.

“So you can see some of the babies we’ve got that are nestled into the grass there. As these babies grow, then they’ll head out further and get out to the reef,” Duda said.

Duda knows the babies will be a fan favorite. While getting to know the babies as they grow, he said there are a couple of other areas of interest, including one that relies on touch so visitors can have a better understanding of the reef.

The aquarium hopes the exhibit will help people connect with the underwater creatures they see in the exhibit and learn more about the home the animals are building at the aquarium.

“These are long-term friends, so you’re going to get to know them as babies and then you’ll get to visit them as they grow into adulthood,” he said.

Duda said they may eventually move into other tanks or to other areas of the aquarium, but added they will definitely be around to visit.

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