Newly Reimagined Audubon Aquarium, Audubon Insectarium Open June 8

NEW ORLEANS (press release) – After closing in November for extensive renovations, the Audubon Aquarium is celebrating with a grand reopening that coincides with World Ocean Day on June 8. Simultaneously, Audubon Insectarium has relocated from its former home at the U.S. Custom House to the aquarium building. The two popular attractions—now in one location on the New Orleans Riverfront—will provide guests with a one-of-a-kind opportunity as the only facility in the world to house both an aquarium and an insectarium under one roof. 

In addition to showcasing new animals, the aquarium will present fascinating educational programming that shows the important connections between humans, animals and the environment. Guests can expect to learn more about habitats from around the world, from local Louisiana bayous to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Caribbean through South and Central America, and the Amazon River basin. 

Structural updates include a new entrance with a multistory bird-safe glass curtain wall, an immense stairway and a 2,500-square-foot lobby with displays that tell the story of Audubon’s conservation work around the world. Separate entrances to the aquarium and the insectarium will be on the second floor.

Guests can look forward to a 60-foot-long hands-on touch pool with sharks and stingrays, special animal encounters with penguins and the Aquarium’s largest exhibit, the 450,000-gallon Gulf of Mexico exhibit. The Amazon gallery will feature 60 free-flying colorful birds representing 15 different avian species. Venturing into the Amazon Encounter, guests will find  other animals species such as armadillos, tortoises, birds and a Linnaeus’ two-toed sloth (the newest member of the Audubon Aquarium family).

Meanwhile, the newly relocated Audubon Insectarium features a butterfly garden with lush greenery and foliage, plus hundreds of butterflies representing 20 different species. Guests also will enjoy a giant 264-square-foot motion display wall with images of butterflies and lightning bugs that reacts as visitors walk by. 

Tickets are available at audubonnatureinstitute.org.