DATE: Friday, October 31, 1997              TAG: 9710310662

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: ROANOKE ISLAND                    LENGTH:   54 lines

AQUARIUM PLANNING MASSIVE MAKEOVER, LARGER DISPLAY AREA

New sharks and turtles, a two-story saltwater tank and a model of the USS Monitor shipwreck are among the underwater additions planned for the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island.

Within two years, the fishy facility will double in size - thanks to an $11.5 million grant the General Assembly awarded this year.

Officials will host a ceremonial groundbreaking Saturday and invite the public to see what's in store for the expansion of their watery world.

``We've been waiting three years for this. And we're finally ready to go,'' aquarium director David Griffin said this week as workers drove stakes in the grass behind his office to show how big the building will grow. ``We're adding 34,000 square feet of exhibit space inside, and even will get new outdoor walkways along the sound.''

The centerpiece of the expanded aquarium will be a crescent-shaped, 200,000-gallon glass tank that will stand 15 feet tall and stretch 40 feet around. Sharks, barracuda and all sorts of saltwater species will swim around the enormous enclosure, circle a replica of the Monitor shipwreck sunk in the center and dive over the heads of observers who stand beneath the curving tank's top. The planned tank is 20 times larger than the current shark tank - the biggest one at the aquarium now.

Another major alteration at the 20-year-old aquarium will involve enclosing the outdoor atrium where alligators and turtles now sun themselves on stones and logs. Plans call for glassing in the entire area with a 54-foot ceiling and adding about 20 trees. River otters will join the reptiles in that exhibit area.

``Our theme is the waters of theOuter Banks. And all our species will be from around this area,'' Griffin said. ``We'll start with fresh waters like those around the Pasquotank River, move into estuarine areas and brackish waters, then get into the sounds and ocean.''

Besides the additional tanks, fish and aquatic animals, aquarium officials plan to offer an eight-minute orientation video to introduce visitors to the exhibits, a children's corner with two new touch tanks featuring stingrays and an expanded gift shop and auditorium.

``It takes about 45 minutes to tour our entire aquarium now. When all this construction is completed, it will take almost two hours to get through it all,'' Griffin said. ``We'll include a traveling exhibit area, computer interactive activities and lots of things visitors can get their hands on.

``We realize we can't compete with the National Aquarium in size or scope. But we want to help people on the Outer Banks connect with their environment out here.''

Although the groundbreaking is taking place this weekend, actual construction won't begin at the aquarium until January. Bids are scheduled to be awarded in about three weeks. And the entire project probably will be completed by the summer of 1999.

About 250,000 people visit the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island each year.

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