In 2018, the Greater Cleveland Aquarium announced plans to upgrade much of its public space using internal resources and many upcycled materials. In addition to upgrading animal life support systems, the Aquarium enhanced gallery theming, welcomed more than a dozen new species including weedy seadragons and splitfin flashlight fish, and expanded its annual passholder program. Approximately 75% of the Aquarium’s public spaces were part of the capital project. In the transformation, the Aquarium divided Lakes & Rivers of the World into two galleries—Asia & Indonesia Gallery and Tropical Forest Gallery; created an Industry & Habitat Gallery to highlight the positive (biomimicry) and negative (habitat loss, pollution) intersections of nature and industry; added relevant conservation action opportunities in each gallery; created Imagiquarium, a toddler-friendly pretend-and-playspace; and expanded its Invasive Species Hut.
