Into the Lake Exhibit

What’s that inside our new Lake Tank? Acrylic, of course!

On Monday, a team of experts came together in our Into the Lake exhibit to unload and install the acrylic for our all-new, 15,000-gallon Lake Tank.

Weighing in at an impressive 2,600 pounds (or approximately 42,000 baby turtles), this marquee window will greet guests as they enter the space and showcase a view of some of Lake Champlain’s most iconic aquatic residents, including our beloved Lake sturgeon.

The Lake Tank is coming together – but there’s a lot more to do before it’s ready for fish. Up next: sealing the new acrylic window in place, installing heat exchangers, programming life support, and more!

It’s a whole new year and we have a lot of updates on our renovation!

Downstairs in our Into the Lake exhibit, work continues on getting our brand-new, 15,000-gallon Lake Tank ready for its aquatic inhabitants.

Over the past few weeks, the renovation & construction crew has been hard at work throughout the exhibit, including:

• Waterproofing inside the Lake Tank
• Installing an all-new animal life support system
• Constructing walls and preparing for paint
• Installing electrical and lighting systems
• Reviewing and finalizing exhibit design plans

Meanwhile, on the second floor, the Upper River tank recently received a fresh new concrete surface and is ready to be waterproofed in the coming days.

Things are moving fast and we have many more exciting updates (and a really big piece of acrylic) coming soon!

Our new 15,000-gallon lake tank is twice the size of the old one, but we needed to know — how many ECHO employees can fit inside?

Twenty-one people easily fit… and, based on our very accurate and scientific calculations, we estimate that 50 might even be possible!

Pouring and forming the concrete for Vermont’s largest aquarium tank is an exciting milestone — but what’s next? Building new walls, curved acrylic installation, waterproofing, new life support, and more!

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!

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.

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