Our new Living River exhibit is a living model demonstrating the connectedness of habitats as water emerges from a mountain spring, expands into the rivers of the piedmont, and finally flows into the ocean. At the Living River, you can see and experience how rain in our mountains travels down through the streams, rivers, swamps and into our oceans, affecting all living things which depend on water. Viewing living specimens which our students do not often see demonstrates how important clean water is to those inhabitants.

A saltwater touch tank at the end of the Living River represents a tidal pool, with live specimens exhibiting the diversity of sea life found in a coastal environment. Our tidal pool is alive with Sea Stars, Urchins, Horseshoe Crabs, Hermit Crabs, Three Striped Damselfish, Blue/Green Reef Chromis Fish, and Left Handed Whelks.