The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
JUST KEEP SWIMMING
Greater Cleveland Aquarium resumes operations with new protocols in place
During the spring and summer of COVID-19, touching stingrays and walking underneath sharks sounds like a fantasy world. However, there is such a place in Northeast Ohio where social-distancing families actually can go somewhere and feel normal — albeit for a brief time.
After first inviting its members to visit, the Greater Cleveland Aquarium, which is located in the historic FirstEnergy Powerhouse on the West Bank of the Flats, recently opened its doors. The general public can visit with limited daily attendance from noon to 4 p.m. at the downtown Cleveland tourist destination.
“We started with a very conservative approach to our capacity,” General Manager Stephanie White said. “This will allow us to see our crowds, what the flow is and how long a guest is staying for their visit.”
The changes associated with attending the Greater Cleveland Aquarium include reserving a 30-minute time-slotted ticket ahead of time. Guests will follow a one-way flow throughout the aquarium aimed at ensuring safe distancing. The venue is allowing 40 guests to enter every half hour.
“This staggers the guests as they enter, so we’re able to control how many people are within our facility,” White said. “Also, we’re not timing a visit. Guests can stay as long as they like.” While bathrooms are open, the Imagiquarium, interactive exhibits and the Nautica Café are closed due to social-distancing guidelines. There are added hand-sanitizer stations throughout the aquarium.
Staff frequently are cleaning high-touch points such as restrooms, counters, elevators and benches. While employees undergo daily temperature checks and health screenings, both workers and visitors are required to wear masks.
Like so many other places, the Greater Cleveland Aquarium closed its doors in March and quickly reduced to a barebones crew, which White called the “essential animal-care team.”
“The pandemic was different for us because usually in the spring we’re seeing more kids, field trips and guests in the building,” said White, who prior to becoming general manager worked as an aquarium curator for eight years.
“During the closure, I was in the unique position that I knew the operations and I was able to step back into that role.” White said something she noticed during the stay-at-home spring was as much as families missed seeing the animals and fish, the creatures also seemed to miss the interaction.
“I definitely think you could see a little bit of a behavior shift,” White said. “We still tried to keep the same daily routine for our animals with 12-hour light cycles and normal feeding times. Still, there was definitely less activity, less noise.”
The Greater Cleveland Aquarium features roughly 1,400 animals in eight immersive galleries, including a 175-foot seatube and the 11,000-gallon Stingray Touchpool.
It’s the latter attraction that for many guests not only defines the visit but also in this time somewhat belies pandemic protocols and creates a sense of normalcy. Instead of parents having to tell their kids ad nauseum not to touch or interact with their surroundings, the opposite is true with the Stingray Touchpool.
“That’s one of our highlights,” White said. “While we were closed, we actually drained the Stingray Touchpool exhibit and moved the animals. That was one way we were able to minimize our work load with that filtration system and save on salt water.” When looking back at the recent soft opening, White said the enthusiasm among members excited to see their favorite animals was palatable.
“We definitely heard from the families who missed their favorite fish or shark or whatever,” White said. “There were a lot of smiling faces last week with a lot of little kids who were just excited to come back out. Also, the parents felt it was a safe visit and attraction that could take their mind off the pandemic for a few minutes.”