By Peyton Saunders | Guest Writer
Last November, the Hill City AquaZoo opened its doors inside the River Ridge Mall, replacing the former SeaQuest aquarium that had occupied the same space since 2019. Despite the change, employees at AquaZoo are trying to maintain the same ethos that they developed under their former name.
Shannon Jeirles, the Director of Hill City AquaZoo, explained that the change occurred due to an expiring contract that the aquarium had with the former SeaQuest.
“We had a contract with SeaQuest, and the term of that contract was five years and October put us right at that five-year mark,” Jeirles said, adding that the transition was beneficial for the direction of the business. “Since the contract ended, we wanted to try to do some things a little differently, so it was just a good time for us to separate from SeaQuest, and it worked to our benefit because they ended up closing some facilities not long after that and ended up filing for bankruptcy.”
After the changes were announced, most of the SeaQuest employees stayed on to work at AquaZoo. Tizz Boyette, an AquaZoo employee, was one of the employees who stayed and helped work through the transition.
“I started at SeaQuest a few months before we changed to AquaZoo. Since then, we have increased the size of enclosures and continue to look after our animals,” said Boyette.
The changes have allowed employees to expand their care for the animals inside the AquaZoo while remaining committed to providing memorable experiences for customers.
Cindy Capps, the Associate Director of Education and Community Engagement for Hill City AquaZoo, has grown closer to some of the animals since the transition. Capps discussed her connection with Penny, a prehensile-tailed porcupine who has been at the enclosure since 2019.
“During construction, her enclosure was very close to where my temporary desk was set up and so she and I bonded and became very good friends,” Capps remarked about Penny.
Through all the changes that the aquarium has undergone in the past six months, the AquaZoo continues to maintain the ethos they developed under their former name.
Anyone who would like to support the AquaZoo can do so by visiting them at the River Ridge Mall or by contacting them at Hill City AquaZoo.