Penguins at the Detroit Zoo will have a new home early next year, according to Oakland Press News. The new Penguinarium is now getting closer to completion after 15 months of work. Ron Kagan, executive director and CEO of the Detroit Zoological Society, said that this is going to set a whole new standard for how zoos take care of penguins. He also stated that the new penguinarium is the biggest capital project ever done in Detroit. The new penguin center will set a new standard for penguin habitats and aims to draw people from around the world when it opens.
The exterior design of the building is in the shape of a giant iceberg and will start off with about 80 penguins. " A lot of research was done to make the design of the place unique and authentic. We also had to cross the Drake Passage to Antarctica to observe thousands penguins in the wild," Kagan added. An east entryway to the penguin center with a descending series of ramps was influenced by Sir Ernest Shackleton's famous Antarctic expeditions and crossings of the Drake Passage.
Visitors will be able to watch these Antarctic birds deep dive. Two underwater tunnels made of clear acrylic will give viewers a chance to see the penguins swimming, diving and soaring. The key feature of the center includes a 25-foot deep aquatic area to be filled with 326,000 gallons of chilled water for the penguins. The Polk Penguin Conservation Center covers a total of 33,000 square feet. About two-thirds of the space is for penguins and the rest will accommodate people, said Matt Robertson, head planning and construction for the zoo.
The new penguin center will provide habitat designed to encourage the penguins to swim, dive, nest and raise young. Early this year the zoo brought in three gentoo penguins to join the macaroni, rockhopper and king species that they already have there.
Kagan said the zoo made great efforts to make the facility as state-of the art as possible.
