Petty Harbour gearing up for summer as attractions reopen for Ocean Week

Despite some rain, drizzle and fog, Saturday saw the unofficial beginning of summer in Petty Harbour with some Ocean Week events. 

"This is our big splash to open back up," said Kiley Best, the chair of the board of the Petty Harbour Mini Aquarium.

In celebration of Ocean Week, an annual national celebration, the aquarium reopened for the season with a host of festivities — including the unveiling of the aquarium's new virtual reality attraction. 

"It's really, really cool," said Best.

"You get to feel like you're underwater and also on the back of a boat in Petty Harbour. And you can see things eating, things moving. It's as if you're underwater, like a diver."

Visitors wear a VR headset to virtually dive into the frigid Atlantic waters just outside the aquarium doors. Within seconds, the viewer is exploring an underwater terrain filled with lobsters, sea urchins and anemone, among other mysterious creatures of the deep. 

"It makes it accessible to people who actually don't go underwater," said Best.

However, guests can also take off the headset and see the underwater critters in the flesh. 

"We collect animals from local areas here in Newfoundland and we put them in the tanks for the summer," said Best.

"We give them the exact habitat and conditions that they need to thrive and we take care of them. We feed them very well and we use them for educational purposes."

When the summer's over, the fish are then released back into the ocean. Best said there are also plans to soon expand the aquarium.

In honour of Ocean Week, Steven Lee, an interpreter at the aquarium, was offering squid dissection demonstrations. 

"We talk about how many legs squid have, their core functions, how they move and cool facts on eating, changing colour, as well as microplastic pollution and any other harmful impacts of the ocean," he said.

Lee said he loves his job.