UC San Diego’s Birch Aquarium attracted a record 603,670 visitors during the fiscal year that ended on June 30, a figure more than 38,000 higher than the previous record, set two years ago.
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The aquarium attributes the boom, in part, to the popularity of the Living Seas Gallery, a new exhibit that features 38 habitats, including one that houses a giant Pacific octopus.
“This record attendance is more than a milestone — it reflects our community’s growing interest in the ocean and the vital role science plays in understanding and protecting it,” Harry Helling, the aquarium’s director, said in a statement.
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The aquarium, a short distance from the Scripps Pier, is run by UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, which regularly makes its research part of the center’s exhibits.
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