{"id":109,"date":"2010-08-12T13:06:54","date_gmt":"2010-08-12T17:06:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beta.nightwire.net\/?page_id=109"},"modified":"2010-08-12T13:26:16","modified_gmt":"2010-08-12T17:26:16","slug":"maui-ocean-center","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.nightwire.net\/?page_id=109","title":{"rendered":"Maui &#8211; Ocean Center"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Maui Ocean Center\u2026..the Hawaiian Aquarium<\/p>\n<p>At the Maui Ocean Center we explored Hawaii\u2019s unique underwater world.<\/p>\n<p>From the smallest coral polyp to the seven-foot sandbar shark, the  intricate wonders of Hawaii\u2019s ocean are showcased in over 60 indoor and  outdoor exhibits.  Each exhibit features marine animals living in  habitants closely resembling their own natural environment.  Hawaii\u2019s  coral reefs comprise more than 80% of the reefs in the United States.<\/p>\n<p>The Open Ocean was definitely one of our favorite attractions, if we had  to pick just one.  This exhibit is home to graceful stingrays and  large, fast swimming fishes like sharks and jacks, all of which co-exist  in a 750,000 gallon salt-water aquarium.  A 54 foot long clear acrylic  tunnel transported us through this pelagic realm providing a 240 degree  view of nearly 2,000 fishes, while stingrays slide overhead and sharks  looked us in the eye.  It was a rare opportunity to see and observe  these amazing animals.  We felt like we were magically transported to  the bottom of the ocean.<\/p>\n<p>Another mesmerizing exhibit was the Sea Jelly Gallery, it was the most  soothing experience seeing the sea jellies dance before your eyes in a  stunning floor to ceiling cylinder.<\/p>\n<p>We found ourselves in the Ocean Center Store a veritable treasure chest  filled with the island\u2019s most unique gifts which compliments the marine  park\u2019s overall experience.  The dazzling array of fine artwork and  jewelry created by some of the island\u2019s most prominent artists all in  one store made us feel like a kid in a candy store.  This store is  definitely the place to shop for unique collectables and great gifts,  here, you will find something for everyone.<\/p>\n<p>The Ocean Center has two restaurants, the Seascape Ma\u2019alaea \u2013 an open  air restaurant overlooking Ma\u2019alaea Harbor with expansive views of the  Pacific Ocean.  This restaurant offers a full service menu and the food  is outstanding.  The other offering is the Reef Caf\u00e9, a delightful  outdoor caf\u00e9 featuring deli-style sandwiches and specialty salads.<\/p>\n<p>This three acre marine park, is the largest tropical reef aquarium in  the Western Hemisphere and was named the top attraction in Hawaii by the  Zagat Survey US Family Travel Guide. The mission of the Maui Ocean  Center is to foster understanding and respect for Hawaii\u2019s marine life,  we congratulate them on accomplishing this mission. This is a definite  \u201cmust see\u201d while visiting Maui. Do plan on spending the day!!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mauioceancenter.com\/\">click here for more info<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maui Ocean Center\u2026..the Hawaiian Aquarium At the Maui Ocean Center we explored Hawaii\u2019s unique underwater world. From the smallest coral polyp to the seven-foot sandbar shark, the intricate wonders of Hawaii\u2019s ocean are showcased in over 60 indoor and outdoor exhibits. Each exhibit features marine animals living in habitants closely resembling their own natural environment. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-109","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P8aPSh-1L","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nightwire.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nightwire.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nightwire.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nightwire.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nightwire.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=109"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nightwire.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":121,"href":"https:\/\/www.nightwire.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/109\/revisions\/121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nightwire.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}