UVic partners with new Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre

On June 20, when the curtain rises on BC’s newest attraction—the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre in Sidney—the ocean and its fascinating creatures will be the stars of the show, but UVic will be playing a supporting role. The University recently signed a memorandum of agreement with the society that operates the centre to jointly explore opportunities to work together to advance dissemination of knowledge about the oceans.

And the results of this partnership will be evident starting on opening day, when visitors will be treated to a special exhibit that focuses on UVic’s cutting-edge oceans research, including the VENUS Project—the Victoria Experimental Network Under the Sea. VENUS is the cabled ocean observatory that, for the past three years, has been delivering real-time information from the sea floor of Saanich Inlet and, more recently, the Strait of Georgia.

VENUS Project Director Dr. Verena Tunnicliffe serves on the board of directors of the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre.

The centre will showcase live marine life of the Salish Sea in 17 massive aquarium habitats. Visitors will encounter thousands of fish, invertebrates and marine plant life at home in 87 tonnes of seawater behind huge acrylic viewing panels.

The Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre is located in the Sidney Pier building at 9811 Seaport Place on the Sidney waterfront and will be open daily starting June 20.

More info about the Ocean Discovery Centre: www.oceandiscovery.ca/