A Deep Dive into the Oklahoma Aquarium

By: Ella Embry

When you take a look at the Oklahoma Aquarium, you never typically think about what goes on behind the scenes. It’s a place you grew up going to on field trips and as a cold shelter on hot, summer days. For two employees, Hallie Moss and Andrea Gann, their whole world revolves behind the scenes of the well-known attraction.

“I wanted to go into Marine Biology at a young age,” said Moss, an Education Specialist at the Aquarium. “Once I got to the end of high school, I realized that I wanted to go to college for that. I ended up graduating with a major in Zoology at the University of Oklahoma State.” 

Although each job at the Aquarium has a key role in maintaining the animals, Moss has a job that goes beyond just educating students. If she isn’t cleaning coral tanks or running chemistry tests, you can find her freediving and scrubbing the large water tanks surrounding the aquarium. 

One of many large water tanks for sea life rehabilitation.

As a kid, you walk around and “ooh” and “ah” at all the animals. What many people don’t understand is that the employees create bonds. For visitors, sea exhibit deaths are something we shrug off. Many people wouldn’t even notice if a sea creature was replaced. 

“It’s always really sad when our animals that are really charismatic and playful pass away,” said Moss. “It’s sad when any animal passes away, but definitely the ones that have a key role we have connected with.” 

Other than death, Moss has more tough obstacles to tackle in the work field.

“Animals are the easiest part of the job for sure,” said Moss. “Dealing with angry teachers and parents that don’t quite agree with what I have to say is difficult.”

As most employees do, facing challenges and stressful situations can put a toll on your emotions. 

“Just like anyone who works with animals, it is hard to not always be able to know what is causing sickness or distress. We do our best to prevent any injuries or problems, but sometimes they still happen and it’s hard on their caretakers when we cannot fix the issue,” said Moss. 

One of the main attractions at the aquarium that draws citizens and tourists in is the shark tunnel. With over half a million gallons of water and multiple pounds of salt, the shark habitat is the main focal point of the building. The main caretaker of this exhibit is Andrea Gann, Lead Biologist of the Shark Quarantine Department.

Gann graduated from Northwest Missouri State University where she earned a B.S. in Marine Biology. After completing her degree, she interned at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo in their shark department. She moved to Oklahoma in early 2017 and has worked at the Oklahoma Aquarium ever since. 

“A typical day usually has me and my team doing walk-throughs on all of our systems under our care, so making sure all components of the tank are operating properly. Then depending on the day, we may have to do some food prep for the week's feed,” said Gann. “For the most part, the job doesn’t really have us interacting with our animals. It’s mostly just various types of cleaning and prepping food for our animals.” 

The indoor quarantine specialized in helping animals' health and wellness before being moved into exhibits in the aquarium.

So just remember, the next time you visit the Oklahoma Aquarium, think of all the hard-working employees and what maintenance it takes to run an aquatic habitat for over 10,000 creatures. If you would like to learn more about what you can do to help out, please visit https://www.okaquarium.org/ or call, (918)-296-3474.