It Runs Deep
Standing, quiet watch over a vast ocean that stretches far beyond the boundaries of the horizon, Blue Reef Aquarium Newquay is a place of windows, water, and wonder.
From inside looking out, we are blessed with a vista as big as life itself. A landscape of ebb and flow tides, gentle sand and wide skies. A place where we can imagine what lies beneath the expanse of Atlantic at our doorstep.
Inside, we are invited into the unseen worlds that hide just beyond sight, just beneath the whitewater that laps the beach. Invited to witness diversity and colour and shape, and life.
And it means something. It’s important. Blue Reef Aquarium is more than just fish, more than any preconception, more than a place to hide from a chill sea breeze and classic Cornish drizzle. If you allow it to be, this place is another world, a Narnia…just with less talking lions, no wardrobe shaped entrance, and, thankfully, no mandatory Turkish Delight. Ugh.
But it is akin to stepping into a new, mysterious place. Somewhere you can round a corner and come face to face with crocodiles, real, living, breathing ones. Or maybe witness a sea turtle glide by mere inches from your nose. Look closely, and every tank might paint you in colours of awe.
But there is something else going on here too. Beyond the attraction. Something deeper.
Because aquariums offer something that is surprisingly easy to overlook:
Aquariums are a silencer for the noise of life.
Fish Tank Screensavers
There is a reason people so frequently used a fishtank as a screensaver.
Occasionally, we all need to switch off the white noise, the ringing phones, the lead-weighted workload, the tinnitus of life. And, the simple act of watching fish is strangely calming. The momentary melting of the world brought on by a Clownfish and an Anemone. Who’d have thought it?
But here we are. Perhaps it’s the hypnotic rhythm of a shoal moving as one, or the effortless grace of a passing sea turtle. Or, perhaps it is simply the knowledge that, for a few minutes, there is absolutely nothing you need to do but let it wash over you. And, in an added bonus, you don’t have to chant or light any candles. This is aquatic zen, and that only asks that you watch.
At their best, aquariums are a place of peace. Somewhere to put the world on hold. There are no demands or expectations, no judgements nor praise.
Just water, movement, and life.
A place to tap into the Blue Mind. Now rest assured, despite mentioning Blue Mind and understanding its connection to mindfulness, I’m still not about to get a chant going, tap a small gong, or light a candle.
That comes later.
But for now, we just get to be. Being around water has long been associated with feelings of calm and wellbeing. A release valve for stress. And what’s beautiful about it is that you don’t need to be an expert in marine biology. You don’t need to know the difference between a wrasse and a ray. You don’t even need to be a devoted follower of fish (The aquatic ones, not the ageing rock star – being devoted to the ageing rock star is sort of a pre-requisite).
You can simply watch.
And sometimes, that is enough.
A Little Inspiration
Let me just put this candle out…okay.
Now, it’s not all about kicking back and switching off. An aquarium can also make you look at the world differently.
Artists have long been fascinated by the sea. Trying to capture the movement and colours, the majesty and life. And, the weird and wonderful creatures that call the ocean, home, are a fascinating bunch, just primed for the artist’s canvas.
The more you look at a fish, the more fascinating they become. There are details within details within details! The way light dances across colourful scales, how the movement in the water changes them from one moment to another, the incredible geometry of it all, patterns on shells that appear mathematical by design but are Mother Nature’s hand at play. What lives beneath the surface, is extraordinary. An ocean’s worth of artistic muses.
Perhaps you are a painter looking for your next subject.
Perhaps you’re a photographer seeking that one shot.
Perhaps you’re a writer who has been staring at the same blank page for three hours.
A games designer needing character inspiration.
Or perhaps you’re simply someone who likes looking at interesting things. Likes to be surprised.
Inspiration is something that can catch us off-guard. A moment in time that suddenly sparks a flame of creativity.
An aquarium is very good at that.
Where Careers Begin
For some visitors, a trip to an aquarium might prove the catalyst to life’s bigger adventures. It’s an easy place to find a calling.
The fascination on a child watching as a shark glides overhead, as seeds are sown for a future marine biologist. Catching the divers plunging into big tanks to release new fish or fix issues, and thinking, “I want to do that.”
Aquarium visits can be the beginnings of a love affair with the natural world, or they can deepen the roots of an already blossoming passion. Children walk the underwater tunnel, wide-eyed with dreams of a future as conservationist, zoologist, scientist, or aquarist.
Not every career begins with a careers fair. Some begin with wonder.
That is one of the great privileges of places like Blue Reef Aquarium. We get to introduce people to a world that they may never otherwise encounter up close, and we get to engage and share our own passion and a journey that often started in the same way; with a little splash of magic in a little aquarium.
Children can form the biggest memories when the world still feels small. When it consists of a home, a school, a day trip or two. Seeing something as extraordinary as sharks and Lionfish and crocodiles in the real world can make an enormous difference.
A picture of a sea turtle in a book is one thing.
Standing beneath a sea turtle as it swims above your head is something else entirely.
Suddenly, the ocean isn’t an abstract concept in a textbook.
It is possibility.
Conservation Starts With Connection
Connection matters.
It’s difficult to care deeply about something you’ve never encountered or understood. To truly gain a level of compassion that requires you take action, it is beneficial to see things first hand.
Conservation can feel like a very big subject. Climate change. Plastic pollution. Habitat loss. Overfishing. The list can seem overwhelming.
But conservation isn’t only about statistics and frightening headlines.
Real conservation is about connection and action. About seeing a creature and thinking: That’s incredible.Then learning where it lives and the struggles it faces every day just to survive. And then realising the numbers are dwindling because of the actions of humanity.
Realising that the extraordinary diversity of life beneath the surface of the ocean isn’t guaranteed to be there forever is a pivotal moment.
Aquariums build wonder, and wonder can be the beginning of responsibility.
If an aquarium can make someone care a little more about the ocean, perhaps they will think twice about the plastic bottle they use. Perhaps learn more about sustainable seafood. Perhaps they’ll talk to their children about protecting marine environments. Maybe take part in a beach clean
Conservation starts with multiple small actions. Small actions that can rarely feel significant when considered individually, but mean a world of difference when they are carried around the world.
But they begin with people caring, and aquariums can be the starting point.
Everything Starts With Curiosity
Curiosity is a wonderful thing…just, don’t ask the cat.
Curiosity is the foundation for everything else. It’s a simple human trait that paves the way to incredible destinations. Nobody needs permission to be curious, nobody taxes curiosity, nobody rallies against it. Curiosity is the key to all of it.
Why does that fish look like that?
How does a shark sleep?
Why are seahorses so strange?
How does a turtle know where to go?
What lives in the deepest parts of the ocean?
Every question pondered, allows us another step into the incredible. And the further you go, the more questions appear.
And that is exactly how learning should feel. Exhilarating, fascinating, jaw-dropping learning. Every new fact should be Detective Columbo turning on his heels and uttering the immortal line, “Just one more thing…”
Aquariums are curiosity factories. Only, you don’t need a golden ticket to enter – just a standard ticket or annual pass will suffice – and there’s no madcap chocolatier waiting to feed you dodgy gobstoppers, just aquarists with a real passion for watering the shoots of curiosity wherever they find them.
I realise I’ve just mentioned a TV detective and Willy Wonka in the last two paragraphs, and I should probably turn the TV off and get out more. Maybe to…an aquarium!
We all love a mystery, and the ocean remains one of the great mysteries of our planet. We know an extraordinary amount about it, but there is still so much to learn. Perhaps a child walking the underwater tunnel today, is solving mysteries of the deep tomorrow.
And Sometimes, You Just Need Somewhere Nice to Go
Of course, not every visit needs to be profound. We’re not expecting everyone to walk away as though they’ve just had a religious experience…although they may indeed, find Cod.
But this is Newquay, Cornwall. Sometimes the rain is horizontal. Sometimes summer turns to the apocalypse in the blink of an eye. And you forgot your coat!
And sometimes, you just want somewhere to go.
You don’t have to leave an aquarium having discovered your future career or developed a lifelong passion for marine conservation. It’s lovely when it happens, but it’s equally great when you just have a nice day.
Maybe laugh at some grumpy-looking fish, realise it’s your reflection in the glass, stop laughing, and quickly shuffle on. Watch sharks doing their thing, enjoy the quirky and the colourful, the mighty and the shy, and the mighty shy, and that one Cuttlefish who looks like he came straight from a Lovecraftian nightmare…that’s the one! Every aquarium visit should be soaked in the fun of doing something a little different.
Places where children can ask endless questions (yes, the crocodiles are real), adults can rediscover their own sense of curiosity, artists can find inspiration, future scientists can discover a passion and everyone can simply stand quietly for a moment and watch the world go by. All at the same time, all under the same roof.
Blue Reef Aquarium is, of course, full of fish.
But it is also full of possibilities.
And perhaps, every now and again, it stands as a reminder that the world is considerably stranger, more beautiful and more wonderful than we sometimes remember.
All you have to do is look through the glass.