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COOL 2 DO: Get up close and personal with sea life

Verne Gay | Off Camera

March 24, 2008

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Steve loves aquariums.

Actually, Steve loves fish. Because aquariums are where the fish are, he loves them by association. Whale sharks, basking sharks and great whites are high on his list of favorite fin-bearers. Not many aquariums have those, unfortunately.

He's also big on octopi and eels. Let's just say, anything that swims.

Steve, 7, is my son, and he's a great guy (naturally). A couple of weeks ago, we decided to make a day trip to Atlantis Marine World, in downtown Riverhead. I needed an expert to help me. Steve qualified.

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There was a good reason to go to Atlantis, 8 years old this June. A new indoor tidal marsh exhibit opened last month. They're building a new river otter pen over on the banks of the Peconic River, next to the aquarium. That'll open in July. ("You otter come by!" the signs beckon.)

You shall instantly know Atlantis Marine World, on East Main Street, by its blue facade - a flashy, electric, eyeball-popping blue that screams "casino" as opposed to "aquarium." The theme, inside and out, is the Lost City of Atlantis, but a surrealistic aqua-kitsch is the flavor. One expects to see an Elvis impersonator emerge from the shadows - in a shark costume.

But Steve doesn't know from "kitsch" or "surrealistic." Atlantis, he declares, is "awesome."

Atlantis is expensive (all good aquariums are): $19, $16 for kids, and $125 buys an annual family membership. Parking is tight and costs a whopping $8 during the summer. But that hasn't kept people away: A total of

2 million visitors have stopped in since launch at an average rate of 400,000 a year. The nice and helpful staff reminds Steve and me that this is the best time of year to come. (Summer weekends? Fuhgeddaboudit.)

Atlantis has 27 exhibits, nine of them outdoors. (Penguins! Sea lions! Even Hydro, the tailless Asian water monitor!) There also are nine "interactive experiences," like taking a dip in the shark tank in a cage. Some of these cost extra (the shark dive alone - ready for this? - $155).

Steve loved the sea lion show, but I hated the sea lion "coliseum," with its high steps and seats of reinforced concrete inadvertently designed to break kids' bones.

But I, like Steve, loved just about everything else. "This is the place I've always dreamed of," said Steve, when we walked into the enclosure for the shark tank, and he began to rattle off the various names: sand tiger, nurse, grouper (from Queensland). We both admired the living coral tank, with 800 tangs, wrasses, gobies, and angelfish, and so forth. It made the new tidal marsh tank nearby seem rather depleted and wan by comparison. Tomcods and oyster toadfish may be important fish in Long Island estuaries. Exotic beauties they are not.

Then, there's "Ray Bay." This is where cownose rays and stingrays swing in endless circles in a "cement pond." They occasionally poke their noses out of the water for food. Steve reached in to pet one of the small, white-spotted bamboo sharks that swam by. The startled fish gave him a small and apparently very pleasing nip on his thumb.

"Awesome," Steve said. "That was awesome."

WHEN&WHERE Atlantis Marine World, 431 E. Main St., Riverhead; 631-208- 9200, atlantismarineworld.com

Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily

Fee: $19 adults, $16 ages 3-11; some attractions cost extra.

Plan your visit: Expect to spend 2-3 hours so kids can play in the sandbox or linger at the shark tank. Exhibits appeal to kids of all ages.

COOL 2 DO: Get up close and personal with sea life

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