If you happen to be in Oregon for the Memorial Day Weekend, stop by the new “Oddwater” exhibit at the Oregon Coast Aquarium! This amazing exhibit just opened this weekend! Yay, it’s a lot of fun - bring the whole family down for fun, entertainment, and even - oh my - education!

The Oregon Coast Aquarium is located in the beautiful seaside town of Newport. Discover their fabulous aquarium and start by visiting their new exhibit.

The Oddwater exhibit features some incredible fishy friends you will make when you participate in a sting ray touch pool, a crawl through tank for a close look at “lookdowns” (a silvery, round fish), interactive audio stations that explain about the fish species you will marvel at here, and the “Bioluminescent Theater” that is about animals that make their own light (bioluminescence).

You may even pick up some ideas for decorating your fish tank! In this “Oddwater” aquarium exhibit, you will enjoy the combination of aquaria and art! Their aquariums, along with the special fish species you will be delighted by, are bedecked with beautiful underwater-inspired blown glass artwork. These lucky fish get to swim around gorgeous Chihuly-esque hand-blown glass figurines crafted by the artist, Michael Cole. But, stop! Don’t just throw any ol’ artwork into your fish tank with your beloved fish! It takes some thought and time to create a healthy, yet beautiful environment in your fish’s landscaping. These beautiful pieces of hand-blown glass artwork were created specifically for each display based on the actual “habitat structures and the requirements of the animals”.

These fascinating fish in this special exhibit are called “odd” because of their distinctness, unusual adaptations to help them survive, or their oddness in the form of bizarre abilities that allow them to cope with their extreme environments and allow them to continue to stay alive. For example, you can meet the cute dogface puffer fishes romping through their blown-glass art trees as they glide through their artistically landscaped aquarium! It’s amazing! They actually have cute little puppy faces - but, yes, they are fish - they really are fish!

Witness the jet propulsion of the nautilus, the fatal beauty of the lion fish, and the smiling bridal burrfish. Gotta love that burrfish!

The Oregon Coast Aquarium is open 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. daily for their summer hours. Visit their website at www.aquarium.org for all the splashy details.