The Maine State Aquarium, located on the McKown Point Road in West Boothbay Harbor, is set to open its doors on Wednesday, June 11.

The Aquarium, a program of the Department of Marine Resources, re-opened last year after undergoing renovations to upgrade the interior with new exhibits and displays. “Last year’s grand reopening was a huge hit with over 26,000 visitors, and this year we have more to debut,” said Education Division Director Dottie Yunger.

Display tanks, including two 1,400-gallon tanks custom fabricated to resemble the rocky Maine coastline, feature a variety of sea life found in the Gulf of Maine and provide an up-close view of animals and plants interacting with each other and the marine environment.

Aquarium educators will be stationed at the touch tanks to answer questions and to help visitors interact safely with different species.

Interactive exhibits highlight some of the exciting research DMR conducts to protect and manage vital Gulf of Maine resources.

New features added for this year include a tank filled with sea run alewives from the Androscoggin River. “Alewives are important to the ecology of freshwater, estuarine, and marine environments, and to our state’s marine economy,” said Yunger.

“A new moon jelly exhibit is also ready for viewing,” added Yunger. Moon jellies are alien-looking creatures named for their translucent moonlike bell. The moon jelly, which grows to 24-inches in diameter, differs from many jellyfish in that they lack long, potent stinging tentacles. Instead, they have hundreds of short, fine tentacles that line the bell margin.

Admission to the Aquarium includes access to the Learning Lab, open to the public for the first time this year and located a short walk from the Aquarium. “The Lab is designed as an interactive space, and this year it features the Sharks of the Gulf of Maine exhibit,” said Yunger. “Visitors will learn about the eight species that inhabit Maine waters and their amazing adaptations as well as the Department of Marine Resources’ work to track them.”

“We are excited to announce that starting this year, all tickets sales are online. If visitors don’t purchase tickets in advance, they can scan a QR code at the door to purchase them using their phone,” said Yunger.

Visitors can purchase a ticket in advance online, by visiting the Aquarium's website.

Visitors who purchase tickets online will receive confirmation to show at the door. Season passes can also be purchased online and picked up at the door during the first visit.

Admission is $10 for adults and $7.50 for children (ages 3-12), seniors, veterans/military personnel. The aquarium shop will open this season as well, and like other state facilities, will accept credit cards only.

The Aquarium will be open from June 11 through Aug. 31, Wednesdays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Stay up to date on featured displays and events at the Maine State Aquarium by visiting the Aquarium's website or Facebook page.