The Akron Zoo’s popular exhibit, Journey to the Reef, will be closing November 19, 2016. The reef exhibit is located in an indoor exhibit hall in Komodo Kingdom which was designed to change exhibits every 3-4 years. Journey to the Reef first opened on May 26, 2012 and hosted over 1.4 million people. Its replacement exhibit has yet to be named, but will open in the summer of 2017.

To commemorate the closing of Journey to the Reef the zoo will host a Bon Voyage party on November 19. Journey to the Reef features 18 aquariums and over 40 aquatic species that live on or near the reef, and live coral. This area also includes several interactive education areas for kids, like our stingray touch tank, to learn about ocean life and conservation.

Many of the animals that are a part of Journey to the Reef had never been exhibited at the zoo before, such as: octopus, eels, seahorses, venomous lionfish and clownfish. The exhibit also included a couple of species of jellyfish, starfish, schooling fish, crabs and more.

Although the new exhibit has yet to be announced it will include some aquatic and terrestrial animals along with carnivorous plants. The new exhibit will be announced early in 2017.