SHARK VOYAGE TRAIN RIDE
Hop aboard the C.P. Huntington train and take a ride through the center of a 200,000-gallon shark tank for an up-close view of a variety of shark species. If you're lucky - you might end up on our Electric Eel train!
all aboard!
Welcome to the Downtown Aquarium’s Shark Voyage. Your voyage takes place aboard a specially designed C.P. Huntington Train, modeled after the turn of the century steam engines. It will take you around the entire 7 acres situated along Houston’s Buffalo Bayou. Along the way, you will learn about the Downtown Aquarium as well as the importance of sharks and their role in the marine world.
You'll journey into the Historic Central Water Works Building! This turn-of-the-century building is home to 200,000 gallons of seawater. The Shark Tunnel is 70 feet long with a variety of different species of sharks.
The largest sharks you'll see are the
Sand Tiger Sharks and the most unusual animal you'll see is our amazing
Sawfish - about 18 feet long!
LARGETOOTH SAWFISH
The most unusual animal you'll see is our amazing Sawfish!
LARGETOOTH SAWFISH
(Pristis pristis)
Born: April 22, 2003
Currently, she measures around 18 feet in length and is the largest animal in her exhibit!
HURRICANE HARVEY
During the storm, the Buffalo Bayou flooded (which runs right next to the Aquarium) and reached a record height of 62.7 feet, flooding her exhibit. We lost all power, including backup systems, leaving her without filtration and aeration for an extended period. Her impressive size and resilience allowed her to withstand the changes in salinity, lack of filtration, and low oxygen levels until Aquarium staff were able to restore the system for her and the other animals.
CONSERVATION STATUS:
CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
Sawfish populations have dramatically declined due to targeted fishing and bycatch. Their long, toothy rostrum makes them especially vulnerable, as it easily becomes entangled in nets. Many people are unaware that this species was once abundant in the Gulf Coast! But overfishing has led to their disappearance, with no confirmed sightings since 1961 near Port Aransas. Conservation efforts continue in regions like northern Australia and the Amazon Basin, where small populations still exist.
Downtown Aquarium regularly partners with Havenworth Coastal Conservation for Sawfish conservation efforts.
electric eel train
All Aboard! The Electric Eel is just like our original train and modeled after the historic C.P. Huntington Train - but is a battery powered locomotive! Going green for the environment - the Electric Eel has Zero Emissions and Lithium-ion Batteries!
ocearch
OCEARCH is a global nonprofit organization on a mission to return our world's oceans to balance and abundance through fearless innovations in critical scientific research, education, outreach and policy using a unique collaborative approach. OCEARCH is recognized as a world leader in generating scientific data related to the tracking and biological studies of keystone marine species such as Great White Sharks.
Learn more about our partner OCEARCH in our Discovery Zone part of our Exhibit.
Learn about Sharks!
Downtown Aquarium and OCEARCH have developed a STEM educational curriculum based on the movement of sharks through the Global Shark Tracker™.
Details on our Fun & Learning pages.
