ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Just in time for the holidays, the St. Augustine Aquarium is now open off State Road 16 just east of I-95. The first phase includes a snorkel adventure and shark exhibit.
The new aquarium takes visitors under the sea and houses more than 250 sea creatures like horseshoe crabs, seahorses and sharks.
All the sea creatures are native to Florida, and the aquarium's owners said they're using the exhibit as an educational tool.
"The fish are depleting, the shark populations are depleting and the corals are being wiped out -- and how devastating it is to the oceans,” owner Kathy Hiester said.
The St. Augustine Aquarium allows visitors to get hands-on by feeding nurse sharks.
The outdoor venue also includes an 80,000-gallon snorkel tank that gets visitors up close and personal with the sea life. Admission tickets to the park are $5, and snorkel adventure tickets are $35.
"We have what we call unlimited visibility, so that allows people to come and snorkel with the fish in a marine environment that is very similar to what you would see in the Florida Keys,” owner Shawn Hiester said.
The Aquarium has been in the works for about three years. Phase one is complete and there are already plans in the works to add another building and other exhibits.
Altogether it'll cost about $6 million.
The aquarium has already been flooded with hundreds of visitors in first few days open.
"It's very overwhelming, but it's so amazing,” Kathy Hiester said.
For more information, go to http://www.saaquarium.com.