The Fish Are Jumping Up North – But Not Where You’d Expect

by Dan Seufert
Weirs Times Correspondent

In one of New Hampshire’s northern communities, amid the splendor of the Mount Washington Valley, not far from the slopes with the best in Granite State skiing, is an experience that might seem fit for … a marine biologist.
But it’s really a place for kids and families. Stingrays, sharks, and crabs are among the hundreds of aquatic animals that now call the presently cold, snowy North Conway area home as part of the new Living Shores Aquarium, which was recently built next to Story Land by that company’s owners, who operate Story Land in Bartlett’s Glen Village.
Since opening on Nov. 4, the aquarium has been open seven days a week, and crowds have been packing the aquarium’s more than 32,000 square feet of interactive tide pools, exhibits, and activities, said Marketing Director Lauren Hawkins.

“It’s New England’s newest hands-on experience, and it really is hands-on, you can touch a wide variety of aquatic life from fresh water and salt water environments,” Hawkins said.
Story Land was built by Bob and Ruth Morrell, reportedly after the couple had bought a large number of German dolls that were based on storybook characters. Designed as an amusement park, it was said to have had just one ride when it opened in 1954 – an old fire truck named Freddie the Fire Engine. Story Land now spans 35 acres and has more than 30 attractions and rides.

The family-owned Morrell Corporation operated Story Land from 1954 to 2007. The property was sold in 2007, and in 2009, the property was officially owned Palace Entertainment, which holds ownership today.
As an educational feature, the Morrell Family had opened Heritage New Hampshire, an attraction dedicated to New Hampshire history in 1976. It was an interactive museum that featured several actors that would play the role of a person who impacted New Hampshire’s history, and numerous historic exhibits and museum areas.
But in more recent years, the museum fell in popularity.
“The exhibits weren’t well attended anymore,” Hawkins said.
Palace Entertainment began to search for a new attraction to take the place of Heritage New Hampshire. And though a large aquarium complex might not have been the first idea to pop into a Granite Stater’s head, it was a natural development for Palace Entertainment.
“They already operate two other aquariums in Florida and Hawaii,” she said. “It was something that took a lot of discussion, but it’s something the company already does well elsewhere.”

The building was renovated and a network of aquarium tanks and display areas were built, and the facility can now handle hundreds of visitors at any one time. The aquarium’s staff is mostly split into two teams, Hawkins said. One team takes care of the sea life and the exhibits, and the other is designed to help educate visitors on the animals.
“It’s all very interactive, you can touch a bamboo shark here, or a cownose sting ray, or any number of animals,” Hawkins said
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Among the exhibits:
• The Silver Moony Exhibit, in which a school of metallic Silver Moony fish will catch your eye as they swim along in coordinated fashion.
• The Cold Water Trout Exhibit, which features brown, rainbow and brook trout as they swim and grow in their environment.
• The Large New Hampshire Species Exhibit, which gives a close look at common warm water sport fish like largemouth bass, catfish, and yellow perch.
• The Otter Experience, featuring six Asian small clawed otters and their mischievous antics.
Other popular exhibits are the shark and ray “touch” pools, and the Caribbean and Western Atlantic Reef Exhibit, which features a colorful collection of angelfish, butterflyfish, damselfish and wrasses, all of which are found along the Atlantic Coast.
The Living Shores Aquarium is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased on the park’s website, www.livingshores.com.