Into the Lake Exhibit

Now at ECHO: Follow along with our ongoing renovation at the all-new Into the Lake Renovation Mini-Exhibit!

Stop by the bubble tower to follow along with our renovation progress tracker, see behind-the-scenes photos of our animal relocation process, and even check in on your favorite vacationing Animal Ambassadors with our live Animal Care camera!

Have questions about the renovation? Chat with staff or attend our daily “Where Did the Fish Go?” Animal Care demo to learn more about our renovation plans and where the animals went while we’re under construction.

Wondering where all our fish went while we’re renovating? Want an update on your favorite Animal Ambassador?

Find answers to all your questions and more when you join ECHO Animal Care Staff by the bubble tower for our special “Where Did the Fish Go?” presentation!

Learn about how our team of Animal Care experts moved all the fish out of the museum, see photos of our animals in their new temporary home, and even take a sneak peek behind the scenes at the construction progress in our Into the Lake gallery.

This special presentation is currently offered once daily every day that ECHO is open. Check the screens around the museum or ask the front desk for presentation times.

For the past few months, many of ECHO’s Animal Ambassadors have been “on vacation” while we work on renovations and habitat updates. But what does that mean? Where did they go? 

For these turtles, fish, and frogs, “vacation” actually means spending time in our off-site Animal Care facility, where they’ll stay until renovation is complete. 

But don’t worry — while they may not be in the museum, the animals definitely aren’t lonely! Our expert team of Animal Care staff have been working hard every day to make sure our off-site animals receive the same world-class care they would here at ECHO. 

Just like in the museum, caring for our off-site animals means more than just feeding and water changes. Animal Care staff carefully monitor the animals’ behavior and make constant improvements to ensure they continue to thrive. This can include anything from adjusting the animals’ feeding routines to modifying their habitats, such as installing new ramps to help hesitant map turtles climb to their basking platforms. 

Once construction is complete next summer, these Animal Ambassadors will return to ECHO, where they’ll enjoy all-new expanded enclosures and upgraded habitats. 

This week in ECHO Construction News: our iconic river tanks are getting a whole new look! 

While Into the Lake renovation continues, ECHO’s Facilities and Animal Care staff are working on exciting upgrades to the river tanks on the second and third floors. 

The first step in this process is to clean out all of the old habitat — including rocks, plants, and landscaping — as well as larger pieces like the upper river acrylic. This will give the construction crew full access to life support systems and the tanks’ concrete, which will get a refresh before the new habitat is installed. 

We’re so grateful for our Facilities and Animal Care staff for their hard work as we prepare the museum for renovation. Clearing out these tanks is just one small part of all the work they’ve been up to behind the scenes.

Wondering where all the fish went as we prepare to renovate?

Don’t worry — they haven’t gone far, and they’ll be back soon!

As we prepare for construction, our expert team of Animal Care staff has been busy moving many of our animals out of the museum and into temporary, off-site aquatic housing, where they’ll stay until construction is complete. Think of it like a fish vacation — just with fewer piña coladas and a lot more fish food.

But getting fish ready for vacation isn’t quite as simple as packing a suitcase. To prepare for transport, fish are carefully ‘herded’ into aquatic containers by staff, who take special precautions to avoid damaging the animals’ protective slime.

In addition to the fish themselves, staff transport water and substrate from tanks here at ECHO to their new home. Water and tank substrate, such as rocks and plants, carry beneficial bacteria essential to establishing a healthy aquarium environment and preventing the buildup of chemicals such as ammonia, which can be harmful to fish.

Once the fish have arrived at their temporary home, staff carefully monitor each introduction to the new space and perform regular water quality tests, conditioning, and water changes to ensure stable, healthy water. All of these efforts help to minimize the stress of acclimation and ensure that our aquatic ambassadors will thrive in their new environment.

Over the next few months, our off-site animals will continue to receive the same world-class care from our Animal Care staff that they would here at ECHO. Make sure to keep an eye on our social media and Into the Lake renovation webpage for more updates along the way!

If you’ve visited ECHO recently, you may have noticed some empty tanks — or even the occasional staff member inside an aquarium!

As we prepare to renovate our Into the Lake exhibit, ECHO’s Facilities and Animal Care team is hard at work moving many of our Animal Ambassadors out of the museum and into their new, temporary aquatic housing.

Whenever they relocate fish, staff also bring along water from their ECHO tanks as well as their substrate, such as rocks and plants, which carries bacteria essential to maintaining a healthy aquarium. This minimizes the stress of acclimating to new water and ensures that our temporary tanks contain plenty of healthy microbes to help the animals thrive.

Thank you to everyone who joined us at ECHO for our Animals on the Move Member Party!

Members and their families joined ECHO staff and Animal Care experts to say “see you soon!” to the animals moving out of the museum temporarily for exhibit upgrades and renovations this fall.

Guests received a sneak peek at plans for the new Into the Lake exhibit, chatted with Animal Care experts about aquarium updates, and wrote postcards to their favorite Animal Ambassadors.

We are so excited to announce that we break ground for our newly renovated Into the Lake exhibit starting this September!

The current gallery is twenty years old and hosts the museum’s largest aquarium, a 7,000-gallon freshwater habitat that displays Lake Champlain’s largest, most charismatic fish species, including lake sturgeon, bowfin, channel catfish, freshwater drum, and muskellunge.

The new design will enhance public education about native wildlife and stewardship of the Lake Champlain Basin ecosystem with a brand new 15,000-gallon aquarium, updated exhibits, a new presentation space, and more