If you’ve been keeping up with the news, you’ll know about the upcoming Singapore Oceanarium taking over S.E.A. Aquarium. But did you know that before the S.E.A. Aquarium, there was Underwater World Singapore?
Image credit: Sengkang via Wikimedia Commons
Underwater World Singapore was considered Asia’s largest tropical oceanarium when it opened in 1991. It was the only marine-devoted park, after the first aquarium in Singapore, Van Kleef Aquarium shut down. The park opened the same year on the Siloso side of Sentosa, aiming to spark curiosity about the animals inhabiting the oceans.
Image credit: Sengkang via Wikimedia Commons
For 25 years, this aquarium inspired interest in marine creatures amongst Singaporeans and tourists. It had an array of unique experiences such as gravity-defying feeding tanks and dolphin shows. The park was extremely popular, receiving over one million visitors in its first year.
Ticket prices in the final years of its operation were $29.90/adult and $20.90/child, until they were slashed to $9 and $5 in its last month.
The Touch Pool, where visitors could interact with some of the sea creatures.
Image credit: @tkte_85 via Instagram
The collection of marine life came from farms in neighbouring countries like Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines, but also from local fishermen and divers who rescued animals in the waters around Singapore.
Underwater World Singapore had the country’s first underwater viewing tunnel. It measured 83m-long and surrounded visitors with scuttering marine life. The reef section had angelfish and dories swimming around while sawfish, eagle rays, and black-tip reef sharks lurked around in the ocean section.
Image credit: @dejiki via Instagram
Part of their interactive experiences, the park offered visitors to watch their divers feed sharks, and even swim with them for $130/pax. Visitors as young as 12 could have up-close encounters with leopard and white-tip reefed sharks.
MAGIC-T tanks.
Image credit: shikkujoseph via Tripadvisor
If feeding sharks was too fearsome, the park had the Mystical Anti Gravity Interactive Concept Tank or MAGIC-T, which were tanks with openings on the sides for you to feed. Seemingly defying the laws of gravity, the openings wouldn’t leak out any water from the tank and allowed for more direct access to food for the fish.
Sea Dragon and Nautilus.
Image credit: @tkte_85 via Instagram and Sea Focus
Aside from the tunnel and interactive exhibits, the park also had 6 different themed exhibits. You could spot Sea Dragons at the Jewels of the Reef or 4 species of turtles at their Turtle Pool.
Watch the mesmerising Nautilus at the Masters of Disguise exhibit, deep-sea bugs like the isopods at the Critters of the Deep exhibit, or see ginormous king crabs at the crab tanks.
Arapaimas and Gracie the Dugong.
Image adapted from: pakistanitraveller via Tripadvisor and Sea Focus
The Living Fossils exhibit allowed you to meet freshwater giants who’ve been around for ages like the Arapaima or the alien-looking Horseshoe crab.
Up until 2014, the park had one of the only captive dugongs, lovingly named Gracie. She was rescued off Pulau Ubin as an orphan after a fishing net drowned her mother. Dugongs are extremely endangered, so seeing Gracie was a novel experience.
Being a marine park and oceanarium, Underwater World Singapore didn’t come without controversies. It also had a Dolphin Lagoon and Fur Seal shows. The Dolphin Lagoon was a viewing area with a large open-air pool, where dolphins and fur seals would perform tricks.
Image credit: @nokremo via Instagram
This exhibit was very popular as it hosted the rare species of Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphin, which sports a baby-pink colour and friendly demeanour. You could also swim with the pink dolphins for $190/pax, inclusive of a ticket to Underwater World, a t-shirt, and a light refreshment.
Image adapted from: Alfiya J via TripAdvisor
While they were popular, these acts were also up for debate during the last few years of the park’s operation, with animal rights activists claiming mistreatment of the animals.
Image credit: @sharon.jy via Instagram
Underwater World’s gates shuttered in June 2016 when its lease ended. Another major factor was competition from other Sentosa attractions like Universal Studios and Marine Life Park, which later became the S.E.A. Aquarium.
When the park shut down, the dolphins, fur seals and otters were moved to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai, China, which is still open today.
The land on which the park stood is now home to Southside, a multipurpose entertainment complex with the Trick Eye Museum, market hall, and open field hosting movie screenings.
Although it was sad to say goodbye to Underwater World, it was the backdrop of some of our sweetest childhood memories. We’re also grateful for it sparking bigger and more education-focused parks such as the upcoming Singapore Oceanarium, which will see an augmented-reality version of the deep-sea and pre-historic species exhibits.
There are still great animal parks to visit today such as The Live Turtle & Tortoise Museum of Singapore, which holds the Guinness World Record for the largest collection of over 1,000 turtles and tortoises. For sights of aquatic animals and birds, you can also head to the Mandai Wildlife Reserve.
Cover image adapted from: Sengkang via Wikimedia Commons, @dejiki via Instagram
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