User:Al the Minotaur/sandbox

History
Prior to construction, the New Jersey State Aquarium was planned to revitalize the Camden waterfront, using the aquarium as a focal point for a shopping center, a hotel, and high rise residential buildings. This proposal aimed to counteract the negative image painted of Camden and draw in revenue that would further help the city.

On July 1, 1995, the New Jersey State Aquarium reopened after $4 million renovation to update the surroundings in order to draw in more visitors. The renovation framed the exhibits as part of a recreated Caribbean area and a fictional ship RMS Rhone.

In 1997, to commemorate the the cite's fifth anniversary, the New Jersey State Aquarium debuted their shark mascot, Chomp.

In December 6, 2009, volunteer diver Robert Large received a bite from a sand-tiger shark, permanently prohibiting him from diving again. The organization that oversaw the volunteer diver program at Adventure Aquarium, NJAAS, allegedly promised to cover all of his $75,000 medical expense, however Large only received $20,000.

The Adventure Aquarium was featured on TLC's Cake Boss on February 1, 2010.

Exhibits
In 2000, the exhibit called the Conservation, Outreach and Outreach Lab, acronymed as COOL, featured the adventures of a fictitious marine biologist, Dr. Marina del Mar, whose Ocean Base Atlantic laboratory, by the storyline, was responsible for all of the animals, displays, and information presented in the building. It featured Indo-Pacific, Puerto Rican, Caribbean, and Central and South American aquatic life such as the yellow-head jawfish and coypu.

On June 7, 2013, Mighty Mike, an American Alligator from Lake Talquin, Florida, was featured at the Adventure Aquarium. Residents discovered Mighty Mike in 2000 and requested him to be killed. However, the trapper relocated him with the help of local reptile expert, Bruce Schwdick. Since then, he served as an animal ambassador, traveling between zoos and aquariums and used for educational purposes. He weighed 800 pounds and was 14 feet long. The aquarium held him until September 2, 2013.

From November 1-9, 2014, the aquarium featured a live show involving mermaids from Weeki Wachee Springs State Park swimming in the shark tank. The limited-time event included photographs and autographs with the mermaids and pirates. The event reopened from November 5-11, 2017 and November 3-11, 2018.

The aquarium also houses African penguins in the only outside exhibit, Penguin Island, which opened in 1998. The enclosure was shut down in 2017 for refurbishment and reopened in 2018. This was done to better imitate the natural environment of the species and included heated rock fixtures and a 17,000 gallon tank filled with salt water.

The Adventure Aquarium contains Shark Bridge, a V-Shaped suspension bridge above a 550,000 gallon shark tank. As of 2016, this was the longest V-shaped suspension bridge in the world at the length of 81 feet.

Eight Australian Blue penguins arrived at the aquarium in 2016 and are located in an exhibit called Little Blue Beach. Initially born in the Taronga Zoo in Sydney Australia, they were transferred to the Bronx Zoo then finally to the Adventure Aquarium. The enclosure includes a 415 square foot exhibit as well as a 9,230 gallon, three foot deep saltwater pool.

The aquarium adopted a then newly-hatched loggerhead sea turtle named Darwin in August 2017, and rehabilitated it for life in the wild. The turtle was released in the fall of that year.

On September 11, 2018, the aquarium adopted a newborn cape porcupine located in Hippo Haven. The public was asked to name the animal via donation boxes. All proceeds went to the Turgwe Hippo Trust.

Conservation Efforts
The Adventure Aquarium, in an effort to reduce oceanic pollution, uses recyclable cutlery and plant-based straws in accordance with Fins for the Future, a Delaware shore conservation effort. Since 2014, the aquarium held annual Hippo Awareness festivals that supports the Turgwe Hippo Trust located in Zimbabwe. On President's Day weekend 2019, they held a sea turtle awareness weekend where they informed the public about the dangers plastic products have on the sea turtle population. Additionally, the aquarium works in tandem with the North Carolina Aquarium and the Pine Knoll Shores Sea Turtle Program to take in newly-hatched turtles and rehabilitate them. Their African penguin exhibit was part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' species protection program since its creation in 1998. Since then, they bred twenty-six African penguins.