Oklahoma Aquarium staff help design carousel in Jenks

JENKS, Okla. — Visitors at the Oklahoma Aquarium now have a new attraction to check out among the fish.

A custom aquatic carousel made its debut Thursday. It’s the first thing guests will see as they enter but Kenny Alexopoulos, Oklahoma Aquarium Chief Operating Officer, says he hopes it’s not the last.

“I hope they’re inspired once they enter the aquarium and look at all the actual real live animals, then of course learn about them and how to conserve them,” he explains.

It’s not a big leap. Almost all the animals on the carousel live at the aquarium, with staff members getting input on the design.

“Most carousels that you see, you would associate with a carnival or circus,” Alexopoulos says. “We really didn’t want that feel, it had to scream the ocean, aquarium.”

He says they did not want the standard of mirrors and cherub angels, so Oklahoma Aquarium staff picked out the colors, animals and even the animal prints guests will see.

“Almost all the animals represent real animals in the wild...except for our sea monster,” he smiles, joking about Loch Ness. “We had to have one sea monster and it’s actually been a rider favorite.”

The carousel took about eight months to build since it was all custom. It was shipped in pieces, then assembled in Jenks over the course of a week.

Alexopoulos says if you haven’t been to the Oklahoma Aquarium in the past six months, it is worth a trip back as they are always adding things.

He mentioned the newer virtual reality element that allows guests to “swim” with the sharks. He says they are working to add a jellyfish touch exhibit soon and a pollinator garden and trail with water features.

In the meantime, he expects to see kids making a bee line for the carousel in the Great Hall.

“It’s kind of transformed the entire room from dull and dingy to an amazing, fun, open space with a beautiful carousel!” Alexopoulos says.

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