Steinhart Aquarium

Steinhart Aquarium, public aquarium in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, noted for its innovative displays. The facility was opened in 1923 and is administered by the California Academy of Sciences. Besides having about 5,000 specimens of some 350 species of fish, the aquarium maintains a collection of more than 200 kinds of reptiles and amphibians, along with 3 species of marine mammals and 60 species of marine invertebrates. The facility was remodeled and modernized in 1963 and again in 1977. One innovation is the Fish Roundabout, an enormous circular glass tank that holds open-sea fish species. The viewer stands in an open area on the inside of the glass enclosure so that an illusion of being surrounded by water is achieved. The marine-mammal collection includes the rare Amazonian manatee. The aquarium sponsors an active research program as well as studies in aquarium sciences and basic marine and freshwater ecology.