Two of Vancouver’s iconic tourist attractions are receiving a facelift.
Science World at Telus World of Science is in the final stages of its $35 million regeneration project and the Vancouver Aquarium is proceeding into a three-phase project that will cost approximately $85 million and will take place over the span of eight years.
Both organizations undertook expansion plans to address the needs of increasing visitor demand, aging infrastructure and the desire to become more environmentally friendly.
“We were getting a little too popular for our own space ... it’ll be a better experience and allow us to accommodate the people that come here,” said Kevin Kearns, vice-president, facility planning and future development, Science World.
The two mammoth attractions have long been favourite spots for tourists – the aquarium reported approximately 900,000 visitors last year and Science World brought in close to 700,000.
Renovations to the building at Science World have been completed and the entire project is set to complete this summer with the addition of a 35,000 square-foot science and sustainability park that will surround the building.
With the changed space inside, Kearns said that Science World has already seen a spike in visitors and membership sales.
“The word of mouth is contagious; we’ve actually had a giant increase in memberships,” said Kearns.
Highlights of the additions include a new lobby, additional galleries and the addition of an 11,000-square-foot green roof with a deck overlooking False Creek.
Also expected to draw in a much larger crowd is the expansions done that will allow the organization to host larger exhibits, which have long been crowd pleasers at Science World.
This comes on the heels of the success that the Body Worlds exhibit brought, which had the total number of visitors increase by approximately 150,000 for that year.
“Body Worlds was one of the impetuses for us to grow ... it showed that you could get an exhibition of that stature and size and that it would be worth it,” said Kearns.
The excitement has just begun at the aquarium, on the other hand, which has been involved in the pre-construction until recently.
Visitors will shortly get a glimpse of what’s to come from the project with the opening of a new entranceway that will be unveiled mid-February.
President and CEO John Nightingale announced the addition of a new exhibit that’s sure to draw a crowd this summer.
“We’re putting in a great new exhibit this summer. Penguins are coming back to Stanley Park,” said Nightingale.
By 2014 there will be more than an acre of new construction, including a new pavilion for the aquarium that will give patrons more space to explore and will host additional galleries and exhibits.
Nightingale believes this additional space will help bolster their already large attendance rate.
“For one thing, we’ll have more elbow room, so I do expect visitorship to go up; we already get our fair share of tourists, but I do expect it to go up,” said Nightingale.
Further plans, extending into 2016, will involve expansion of the popular B.C.’s wild coast and Canada’s Arctic galleries, the salmon-hatchery brought up into the aquarium and the addition of new species such as seabirds, shorebirds, waterfowl, fresh-water fish, and beavers.
“Visitors are going to get a very dramatic new underwater viewing gallery with [an] underwater window wall into the Belugas in the arctic,” said Nightingale.
While both tourist attractions see a large amount of traffic, most of that traffic stems from within the Lower Mainland.
In 2010 84% of total visitors to Science World and between 60-65% of the total visitors to the aquarium came from the Lower Mainland.
Being not-for-profit organizations, Science World and the Vancouver Aquarium relied on government grants and fundraising events to cover the costs of renovation.
The federal and provincial governments gave a combined total of $25 million toward the revitalization at the aquarium and $21 million to regeneration at Science World.
Nightingale said that the grants were evidence that both Science World and the Vancouver Aquarium were not just tourist attractions but important players in enriching the education system, especially in respect to engaging young minds in scientific and trade studies.
Premier Christy Clark echoed his sentiments in a press-release last November:
“In order to maintain our competitive edge,” said Clark, “it’s important we support Science World and their programs that foster the pursuit of science in our children and throughout the community.” •
