Pollock and other Gulf of Alaska fish swim in a tank behind the crabs. Stellar sea lions frolic behind the fish. Though the creatures are captive in their own, separate, acrylic-walled worlds, the effect is that of peering into a teeming ocean. An escalator alongside the crab tank whisks visitors up to ground level and the next exhibit outside. With the Kenai Mountains and Resurrection Bay as a backdrop, sea lions lounge on a man-made rookery while puffins nest and sea otters frolic.
Visitors study sea otters at play and nesting puffins.
Another escalator sends visitors down to the crown jewel of the aquarium. Under layers of acrylic, they watch from underneath the world just seen above. It's as if viewers are walking on the ocean floor. If an ecological disaster should strike or an animal is stranded, tanks and rooms stand ready to receive small whales, sea lions or other injured birds or animals. The people pushing the Alaska Sea Life Center believe in their project with the fervor of new religious converts.