Situated next to Rio's new tourist attraction, the largest Ferris wheel in Latin America, AquaRio is an experience that, in addition to entertaining, seeks to educate children and adolescents about marine life.
In one exhibit, for example, a "mermaid" teaches visitors about the consequences of oil spills on Brazilian beaches.
"The mermaid has a very important job with our education team. It is not just for the child to come and look at the mermaid: it is for her to leave here with a picture and knowing the problems of the ocean, leaving here as a transformative conservation agent. It's a program for the family, the tourist, the carioca," said Raphael Lobo, director of operations at the site.
Called "Life at Sea Asks for Help!", The campaign runs until January 31 and proposes to the public that "rethink some habits, such as throwing oil in the sink, trash on the beach, or consuming endangered species. All of this impacts directly on marine ecosystems," says marine biologist Paulo Salomão, responsible for the education sector at AquaRio.
The mermaid dives into the AquaRio tanks daily at 10:30 am. At the end of the journey, the viewer will have access to an oil spill exhibition.
But the stars of the house are the three Mangona sharks that swim in the Great Ocean Tank: Daisy, Donald, Gaston.
A real living museum, the AquaRio houses between 2,000 and 3,000 animals, including crustaceans, starfish, corals, plankton, and fish, spread over 4.5 million liters of water distributed in 28 tanks.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon