Research and classroom education will be the main focus of the New Marine Centre to be constructed in Sidney with the help of a $2 million government grant.  The Centre, the projected total cost of which will be $8.5 million, is scheduled to open in the spring of 2009.

One of the components will be a Deep Water Gallery, huge glass tanks that will be teeming with marine life. Other attractions are the skeletons of an orca and a grey whale that will “magically” be transformed into “flesh and blood” versions through the magic of technology.

The original concept for the idea was put forth in 1997 according to Sidney Mayor Don Amos, when municipal land was made available for the attraction and a partnership was formed with the developers of the Sidney Pier Hotel and Spa.

It is hoped that the attraction will bring a new focus to the Town of Sidney and will become the centerpiece of town redevelopment.