The lake sturgeon that live at the ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain will soon be big fish in a bigger pond. Burlington’s lakefront science and nature museum is more than doubling the size of the sturgeons’ 7,000-gallon freshwater aquarium, also home to other large lake dwellers such as the bowfin, channel catfish and muskellunge.
The new 15,000-gallon tank is part of a $3.3 million renovation that will refresh ECHO’s 20-year-old “Into the Lake” exhibit. It will also include improved habitats for native species, such as the American eel, landlocked Atlantic salmon and lake trout, and an invasive species display and exhibit. ECHO’s beloved snapping turtle is literally moving on up to bigger digs on the mezzanine level.
Funding for the project came from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as gifts from local foundations and longtime donors. Construction gets underway in mid-September and will last a few weeks. ECHO will be closed to visitors on weekdays during this period, so check to be sure it’s open before making plans to visit. ECHO will reopen as usual after the initial closure but without “Into the Lake”; a grand reopening of the exhibit is planned for June 2025.
This article was originally published in Seven Days’ monthly parenting magazine, Kids VT.
This article appears in Kids VT, Fall 2024.
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