Aquarium Packs ‘Em in Like Sardines

The Lechugas of Whittier bounded through the doors of the new Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach like thousands of other visitors Saturday. The big tank of predator fish at the back of the foyer caught their attention right away, and the three older girls, Lexi, Kristen and Carisa, rushed right up to it.

“I see the long fish with the black tail that’s so skinny,” said Kristen, the talkative one. “I think they’re stingrays.”

Actually, they were giant sea bass. Her mother, Veronica, pointed that out, and the schooling began.

Some 12,000 other fish-lovers joined the Lechugas on Saturday, packing the aquarium to its gills at the public opening. The capacity crowds nearly overwhelmed the gleaming complex and its staff as visitors pressed toward the tanks filled with exotic and not-so-exotic fish and sea life from throughout the Pacific Ocean.

The sheer volume of visitors exceeded even the aquarium’s “wildest dreams.” Despite the sometimes slow going, most seemed willing to put up with the crowds. Like the Lechugas, many visitors wanted to be here at the beginning.

“We really wanted to be here opening day,” said Alex Lechuga, as he pointed to Veronica and their four daughters. “Last night we took them to see ‘Mulan.’ This is their other treat for a good year at school.”

To make sure they got in, the Lechugas left Whittier early, and made it to Long Beach by 10 a.m. With four young girls, including one under a year old and strapped to her daddy’s back, the Lechugas hoped to beat the worst of the crowding.

Once inside, the first stop sets the day’s pattern. Kristen, 7 years old and sporting the same ponytail all the Lechuga women wore, shouts out her marine life theories and looks to mom and dad for confirmation.

“Look at this one right here, see, dad?” Kristen shouts. “His tail curls back and then squiggles out. I think he bites.”

He’s a lobster, and he doesn’t bite--at least not children, dad replies. A quick look of relief crosses Kristen’s face. She and her sisters are safe.

Lexi, a year older but much quieter than her younger sister, is too shy to shout out answers as quickly. But when she does, she’s usually right.

An empty tank prompts Kristen to yell “Penguins! Penguins!” Lexi, 8, pauses thoughtfully, surveys the scene and waits until a sea lion slides into view. “Those aren’t penguins,” she says knowingly.

As for mom and dad, they arbitrate the infrequent disputes and guide the children through the packed exhibits. Transformed into amateur biologists, they ask the girls to identify fish and encourage them to touch the slimy sea slugs and prickly urchins.

“They’re spiky but not poisonous,” an aquarium volunteer says to Lexi.

Entering the last leg of the museum, the Tropical Pacific Gallery, 2-year-old Carisa starts to show signs of fatigue. She asks dad, then mom, for a ride. Vanessa, the 11-month old with a shock of curly hair, fell asleep on dad’s back long ago. Kristen and Lexi are still going strong.

They trace their hands over a particularly colorful exhibit, and a yellow sailfish swoops up to follow the fingers. “He thinks it’s food,” Veronica tells her daughters.

A little over two hours have passed, and the Lechugas are almost done. The last stop is a quick visit to the aquarium’s gift shop to sort through the assorted fish magnets, T-shirts and stuffed animals.

They’re tired, but say it was worth it.

“It was very interesting, I’d say it compares to the Monterey Bay [aquarium],” Veronica Lechuga says, adding that they’d bought the annual membership package.

Long Beach is betting serious money and prestige on the aquarium, the latest municipal gambit designed to bring tourists and life to the city’s waterfront. The aquarium, city officials hope, will lead a long-awaited beachside recovery.

“There’s a lot here for them (her daughters) to learn,” Veronica Lechuga says. “We’ll be back.”