The Monterey Bay Aquarium gets everyone moving with its soon-to-open exhibit.

Celia Jiménez here, just after touring the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Ocean in Motion is a fun, interactive, colorful and bilingual exhibition that’s opening to the public on Saturday, Nov. 7. 

The Aquarium invited a group to a sneak peek behind the black curtains on the second floor near the kelp forest exhibit today, Oct. 26. There, we met one of the Aquarium’s stars: Rey, short for Monterey, a 12-year-old visually impaired African penguin who has spent her whole life at the Aquarium—this is where she hatched. 

The upcoming exhibit replaces the former Splash Zone. It is an immersive experience with black-and-white penguin animations swimming and wiggling on the walls, plus tactile shapes to explore, such as the curves of a seahorse or a garden eel, and a coral reef where kids can play hide-and-seek.

Emily Saich, the Aquarium's vice president of exhibitions, says they’ve been planning Ocean in Motion for several years. They built on the previous popular exhibition, incorporated new research and created a new experience that goes beyond learning about the ocean to create empathetic connections. 

The new exhibit offers expanded habitats, with areas to sit, observe or play. Saich says some areas “are welcoming for young children to play and move their bodies and interact with the environment around them, mimicking what animals might do.” 

Kids can wiggle and walk like an African penguin, hide in a coral reef like many small fish do, or simply play with water. Saich hopes these experiences help children make memories and create connections to live animals and wildlife. It’s illuminated by natural light. 

Beyond play areas and expanded habitats, the exhibit features eight joyful soundtracks that match the animals’ movements. 

“We compose the music while watching live animals or live footage of the animals we have on display,” Saich says, noting they tested the music with young children and observed their responses. 

Douglas Morton, who has composed tracks for the Aquarium, and Kar Labs, a collective that supports young composers in Africa's wildlife industry, oversaw the music. The latter focused on the African penguins. “We met them at a Wildlife Film Festival and their music was just like, ‘This is perfect,’” Saich says. 

The exhibition is fun and lively, and I think my nieces and nephew would enjoy it. I’m sure many locals and frequent visitors, especially those ages 2-6, are eagerly waiting for the opening.