Pequots gave aquarium $5 million

Mystic Aquarium honors Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation

Gift that made exhibit possible is the largest in the history of the AquariumMystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration, a division of Sea Research Foundation, Inc., yesterday hosted a rededication of the Arctic Coast exhibit to recognize the generous gift from the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation that made construction of the exhibit possible.

In 1996, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation made a gift of $5 million, which funded the expansive outdoor exhibit that currently houses the Aquarium’s three beluga whales and the seven belugas visiting from Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Containing more than 750,000 gallons of water, it is one of the largest outdoor beluga exhibits in the nation.

Originally named the Alaskan Coast, the exhibit was recently renamed to accommodate a wider range of species and reflect the Aquarium’s ongoing research in the Arctic to understand climate change and its effect on belugas.