1.
Madrid
–
Madrid is the capital city of the Kingdom of Spain and the largest municipality in both the Community of Madrid and Spain as a whole. The city has a population of almost 3.2 million with an area population of approximately 6.5 million. It is the third-largest city in the European Union after London and Berlin, the municipality itself covers an area of 604.3 km2. Madrid lies on the River Manzanares in the centre of both the country and the Community of Madrid, this community is bordered by the communities of Castile and León. As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political, economic, the current mayor is Manuela Carmena from Ahora Madrid. Madrid is home to two football clubs, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid. Madrid is the 17th most liveable city in the according to Monocle magazine. Madrid organises fairs such as FITUR, ARCO, SIMO TCI, while Madrid possesses modern infrastructure, it has preserved the look and feel of many of its historic neighbourhoods and streets. Cibeles Palace and Fountain have become one of the monument symbols of the city, the first documented reference of the city originates in Andalusan times as the Arabic مجريط Majrīṭ, which was retained in Medieval Spanish as Magerit. A wider number of theories have been formulated on possible earlier origins, according to legend, Madrid was founded by Ocno Bianor and was named Metragirta or Mantua Carpetana. The most ancient recorded name of the city Magerit comes from the name of a built on the Manzanares River in the 9th century AD. Nevertheless, it is speculated that the origin of the current name of the city comes from the 2nd century BC. The Roman Empire established a settlement on the banks of the Manzanares river, the name of this first village was Matrice. In the 8th century, the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula saw the changed to Mayrit, from the Arabic term ميرا Mayra. The modern Madrid evolved from the Mozarabic Matrit, which is still in the Madrilenian gentilic, after the disintegration of the Caliphate of Córdoba, Madrid was integrated in the Taifa of Toledo. With the surrender of Toledo to Alfonso VI of León and Castile, the city was conquered by Christians in 1085, Christians replaced Muslims in the occupation of the centre of the city, while Muslims and Jews settled in the suburbs. The city was thriving and was given the title of Villa, since 1188, Madrid won the right to be a city with representation in the courts of Castile. In 1202, King Alfonso VIII of Castile gave Madrid its first charter to regulate the municipal council, which was expanded in 1222 by Ferdinand III of Castile
2.
Community of Madrid
–
The Community of Madrid is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of Spain. It is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, and its capital is the city of Madrid, which is also the capital of the country. The Community of Madrid is bounded to the south and east by Castile–La Mancha and to the north and west by Castile and it was formally created in 1983, based on the limits of the province of Madrid, until then conventionally included in the historical region of New Castile. The Community of Madrid is the third most populous in Spain with 6,369,167 inhabitants mostly concentrated in the area of Madrid. It is also the most densely populated autonomous community, Madrids economy is of roughly equal size to Catalonias, which remains Spains largest. Madrid thus has the highest GDP per capita in the country, some notable discoveries of the region the bell-shaped vase of Ciempozuelos. During the Roman Empire, the region was part of the Citerior Tarraconese province, except for the south-west portion of it and it was crossed by two important Roman roads, the via xxiv-xxix (joining Astorga to laminium and via xxv, and contained some important conurbations. The city of Complutum became an important metropolis, whereas Titulcia, during the period of the Visigothic Kingdom, the region lost its importance. The population was scattered amongst several small towns, Alcalá de Henares was designated the bishopric seat in the 5th century by orders of Asturio, archbishop of Toledo, but this event was not enough to bring back the lost splendor of the city. The centre of the peninsula was one of the regions of the Al-Andalus until the 11th century when it became important. The Muslim governors created a system of fortresses and towers all across the region with which they tried to stop the advance of the Christian kingdoms of the north. The fortress of Mayrit was built somewhere between 860 and 880 AD, as a walled precinct where a military and religious community lived, and it soon became the most strategic fortress in defense of the city of Toledo above the fortresses of Talamanca de Jarama and Qal-at-Abd-Al-Salam. In 1083, king Alfonso VI of Castile conquered the city of Madrid, Alcalá de Henares fell in 1118 in a new period of Castilian annexation. The feudal and ecclesiastical lords came into constant conflict with the different councils that had granted the authority to repopulate. Specifically, Alcalá de Henares was under the hands of the archbishopric of Toledo, Castilian monarchs showed a predilection for the center of the peninsula, with abundant forests and game. El Pardo was a region visited frequently by kings since the time of Henry III, the Catholic Monarchs started the construction of the Royal Palace of Aranjuez. In the 16th century, San Lorenzo de El Escorial was built, besides its growing political importance, it also became a cultural center with the foundation of the University of Alcalá de Henares in 1508. In 1561, King Philip II made Madrid the capital of the empire, the surrounding territories became economically subordinated to the town itself, even beyond the present day limits of the Community of Madrid
3.
Spain
–
By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
4.
Amusement park
–
An amusement park or theme park is a group of entertainment attractions, rides, and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people. Theme parks, a type of amusement park, are usually much more intricately themed to a certain subject or group of subjects than normal amusement parks. Amusement parks evolved from European fairs and pleasure gardens, which were created for peoples recreation, Worlds fairs and expositions were another influence on the development of the amusement park industry. In common language, the theme park and amusement park are often synonymous. However, a park can be regarded as a distinct style of amusement park. A theme park has landscaping, buildings, and attractions that are based on one or more specific themes or stories. The amusement park evolved from three earlier traditions, the oldest being the periodic fair of the Middle Ages - one of the earliest was the Bartholomew Fair in England, the worlds oldest amusement park appeared in the Continent. Bakken at Klampenborg, north of Copenhagen, Denmark, opened in 1583, a wave of innovation in the 1860s and 1870s created mechanical rides, such as the steam-powered carousel, and its derivatives. This inaugurated the era of the modern funfair ride, as the classes were increasingly able to spend their surplus wages on entertainment. The second influence was the pleasure garden, one of the earliest gardens was the Vauxhall Gardens, founded in 1661 in London. By the late 18th century, the site had a fee for its many attractions. It regularly drew crowds, with its paths being noted for romantic assignations, tightrope walkers, hot air balloon ascents, concerts. Although the gardens were designed for the elites, they soon became places of great social diversity. Public firework displays were put on at Marylebone Gardens, and Cremorne Gardens offered music, dancing, prater in Vienna, Austria, was opened in 1766. The concept of a park for amusement was further developed with the beginning of the worlds fairs. The first World fair began in 1851 with the construction of the landmark Crystal Palace in London, the purpose of the exposition was to celebrate the industrial achievement of the nations of the world and it was designed to educate and entertain the visitors. American cities and business saw the worlds fair as a way of demonstrating economic. The Worlds Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, Illinois was an precursor to the modern amusement park
5.
Mascot
–
Mascots are also used as fictional, representative spokespeople for consumer products, such as the rabbit used in advertising and marketing for the General Mills brand of breakfast cereal, Trix. In the world of sports, mascots are used for merchandising. Team mascots are often confused with team nicknames, while the two can be interchangeable, they are not always the same. For example, the teams of the Auburn University are nicknamed the Auburn Tigers. Costumed mascots are commonplace, and are used as goodwill ambassadors in the community for their team, company. It was originally sporting organisations that first thought of using animals as a form of mascot to bring entertainment and excitement for their spectators, before mascots were fictional icons or people in suits. Animals were mostly used in order to bring a different feel to the game. The event that prompted these changes was the invention of the Muppets in the late 1960s, the puppets offered something different to what everyone was used too. It allowed to people to not only have visual enjoyment but also allowed them to interact physically with the mascots, marketers quickly realized the great potential in three-dimensional mascot and took on board the Muppet-like idea. This change encouraged other companies to start creating their own mascots, resulting in mascots being a necessity amongst not only the sporting industry, the word mascot originates from the French term mascotte which means lucky charm. This was used to describe anything that brought luck to a household, the word was first recorded in 1867 and popularised by a French composer Edmond Audran who wrote the opera La Mascotte, performed in December 1880. But didnt enter into the English language until the year after in 1881, however, before this, the terms were familiar to the people of France as a slang word used by gamblers. The term is a derivative of the word masco meaning sorceress or witch, before the 19th century, the word mascot was associated with inanimate objects that would be commonly seen such as a lock of hair or a figurehead on a sailing ship. But from then on until the present day, the term was seen to be associated with good luck animals. Often the choice of mascot reflects a desired quality, an example of this is the fighting spirit. In the United States, controversy surrounds some mascot choices, especially those using human likenesses, Mascots based on Native American tribes are particularly contentious, as many argue that they constitute offensive exploitations of an oppressed culture. However several Indian tribes have come out in support of keeping the names. For example, the Utah Utes and the Central Michigan Chippewas are sanctioned by local tribes, similarly, the Florida State Seminoles are supported by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in their use of Osceola and Renegade as symbols
6.
Trampoline
–
A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched over a steel frame using many coiled springs. People bounce on trampolines for recreational and competitive purposes, the fabric that users bounce on is not elastic itself, the elasticity is provided by the springs that connect it to the frame, which store potential energy. A game similar to trampolining was developed by the Inuit, who would toss blanket dancers into the air on a walrus skin one at a time during a celebration of whale harvest. There is also evidence of people in Europe having been tossed into the air by a number of people holding a blanket. The trampoline-like life nets once used by firefighters to catch people jumping out of burning buildings were invented in 1887, the 19th-century poster for Pablo Fanques Circus Royal refers to performance on trampoline. The device is thought to have more like a springboard than the fabric-and-coiled-springs apparatus presently in use. These may not be the antecedents of the modern sport of trampolining. In the early years of the 20th century, some used a bouncing bed on the stage to amuse audiences. The bouncing bed was, a form of small trampoline covered by bedclothes, while trampoline-like devices were used for shows and in the circus, the story of du Trampolin is almost certainly apocryphal. No documentary evidence has found to support it. The first modern trampoline was built by George Nissen and Larry Griswold in 1936, Nissen was a gymnastics and diving competitor and Griswold was a tumbler on the gymnastics team, both at the University of Iowa, United States. It was initially used to train tumblers but soon became popular in its own right, Nissen explained that the name came from the Spanish trampolín, meaning a diving board. Nissen had heard the word on a tour in Mexico in the late 1930s. In 1942, Griswold and Nissen created the Griswold-Nissen Trampoline & Tumbling Company, the generic term for the trademarked trampoline was a rebound tumbler and the sport began as rebound tumbling. It has since lost its trademark and has become a generic trademark, early in their development Nissen anticipated trampolines being used in a number of recreational areas, including those involving more than one participant on the same trampoline. One of the earliest pioneers of trampoline as a sport was Jeff Hennessy. Hennessy also coached the United States trampoline team, producing world champions than any other person. Among his world champions was his daughter, Leigh Hennessy, both Jeff and Leigh Hennessy are in the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame
7.
Bobbejaanland
–
Bobbejaanland is a theme park in Lichtaart, Belgium. The park was founded by Bobbejaan Schoepen, a Flemish singer, guitarist, in 1959 he bought a 30 hectare marsh, had it drained and built a 1000 capacity venue that opened in December 1961 as Bobbejaanland. This developed into an amusement park and remained in his possession until he sold it in 2004, for its first decade after opening the park centered on water attractions and performance spaces. Numerous variety artists from the Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany appeared there, following the advice of Phantasialand owner Gottlieb Löffelhard, Bobbejaanland evolved from 1975 onwards into a theme park, with rides becoming more important than music shows. It grew to fifty attractions with four hundred employees and received visitors from the Benelux countries, France, as an independent family concern, it also supported educational and cultural projects. By the end of the seventies, Bobs wife Josée opened a museum with works of art from the Hopi and Navajo cultures, from the 1990s, three of his five children worked for the park. It added a 70 meter high windmill that provides the region with energy, the giant Sledgehammer reaches a speed of 110 km/h). In 1995 Kinderland was opened as an area for young children, in 1979 Bobbejaanland opened the Looping Star roller coaster. Although the ride had a security bar placed over the hip, the coaster was dismantled in 2003. Bobbejaanland also has Revolution, a fully enclosed tubular steel coaster manufactured by Vekoma. In 2016 the attraction was equipped with Samsung Gear VR, in the morning, the original ride is active. In the afternoon, passengers have the option to wear the virtual glasses, due to this concept only one passenger per car can wear the glasses. Physical limitations prohibit children to wear the glasses as they dont fit on their head, because Bobbejaan Schoepen was primarily a folk and country singer, the park is still partly themed as a western village. In the Star Theater, Las Vegas style shows are performed, Bobbejaan bought Zorros horse from stuntman Casey Tibbs, but the animal was accidentally electrocuted by an exposed cable. He also acquired an ornate white Pontiac Nudie mobile decorated with American coins, in the winter of 2003 the park invested 12 million dollars in two new rides named the Typhoon and the Sledge Hammer. In a 2004 survey of 13 European amusement parks by Belgian consumer organisation Test-Aankoop Bobbejaanland was rated second after Phantasialand, in the early 2000s the founder was diagnosed with cancer and he sold Bobbejaanland to the Spanish-American Parques Reunidos group in April 2004. De Vlaamse kleinkunstbeweging na de Tweede Wereldoorlog - Een historisch overzicht, the Flemish Variety Movement after World War II - An Historical Overview. Peter Notte, Ghent University, 1992) Bobbejaan Schoepen — Histories documentary,4 January 2001 Bobbejaan Schoepen — The Belgian Pop & Rock Archive, brel Le flamand — Histories documentary,2003
8.
Parque Warner Madrid
–
Parque Warner Madrid is a theme park located 25 km southeast of Madrid, Spain, in the municipality of San Martín de la Vega. The park opened on April 6,2002, under the management of the Six Flags chain, in November 2004, the management arrangement with Six Flags was terminated, with the park now managed by Time Warner and numerous Spanish investment groups. The name change to Parque Warner Madrid occurred at the start of 2006. S, despite all, Six Flags operated the park at their discretion without regard to the board of directors, to produce all kinds of situations far less obtrusive. In 2002, director Pilar Azcarraga said that visitors satisfaction was around 90%, in 2004, Six Flags would sell all of its European parks, with the exception of the Warner Bros. Movie World Madrid, to Star Parks Group, the Madrid park was sold back to Time Warner and renamed Warner Bros. Park after the end of the 2004 season, in 2006, the park was renamed again to Parque Warner Madrid. This season saw the premiere of two new shows, Police Academy 2 and Batman Begins, the based on the latest movie from Warner Brothers. Both have received reviews from visitors to the park. On 17 June 2014, the opened a water park. The €8.5 million park spans 30,000 square metres and features two pools, a lazy river and two water play areas. Like parts of the amusement park, Parque Warner Beach is themed to Looney Tunes. Another prominent attraction is The Revenge of the Enigma, a structure 100 meters high that drops visitors at 80 km/h, the park is divided into five themed areas, DC Super Heroes World, Warner Bros. Studios, Cartoon Village, Old West Territory and Hollywood Boulevard, Movie World Movie Park Germany Official website Parque Warner Madrid on Google Maps Parque Warner Madrid at the Roller Coaster DataBase
9.
Attractiepark Slagharen
–
Attractiepark Slagharen is an amusement park situated in Slagharen, Netherlands. It also contains a park and a water park. Its one of the most visited parks in Europe and it was in the top 20 in 2010 and 2011. In 1963, shopkeeper Henk Bemboom built a number of cottages on a piece of land around an old farmhouse. As an added attraction, he offered a Shetland pony and a carriage to the occupants of each cottage, over time, more and more attractions were built, so that the resort gradually developed into a fully-fledged theme park. In 1990 Bemboom gave the park to his children, who sold it to the Spanish group Parques Reunidos in 2012, Bemboom died on May 27,2014. The park is divided two sections, connected by a Main Street which is lined with shops and restaurants. The park has more than 30 rides, including two roller coasters, there are six themes, Indian, Yellowstone, New Orleans, Mexican, Wild West and Jules Adventureland. com
10.
Tusenfryd
–
Tusenfryd is an amusement park at Vinterbro, Norway. The park is located 20 kilometers south of Oslo, two of the longest motorway corridors in Norway, E6 and E18, meet nearby Tusenfryd and the park is located on the west side near where they meet. SpeedMonster, SuperSplash, ThunderCoaster and SpaceShot make the visible from the motorway. The park was opened on 11 June 1988, after a construction period of 18 months. The park is owned by Parques Reunidos S. A. located in Madrid, bjørn Håvard Solli is the parks CEO. The park has 31 attractions and has 500,000 visitors per year, from 1950 to 1985 the park´s area belonged to a zoo. When the zoo closed, two entrepreneurs, Tor Erling Pettersen and Terje Buer, signed a lease to rent 115 acres of the former land. Eighteen months later, on 11 June 1988, Tusenfryd opened and attracted almost half a million people in its first season. Even though Tusenfryd is not divided into themed areas there is a section called Morgan Kane Town, another section is called Vikingland. The park´s mascot is called Fryd, the park has one of the most innovative entrances of any amusement park. The park has flower beds and it is located on a forested area requiring a lot of uphill walking. The actual park occupies 55 acres, tømmerstupet - A330 meters long log flume ride that ends in a 7 meter high drop. Opened in 1988, made by Arrow Dynamics with a photo camera. Badefrydelven a waterslide Blekkspruten - Octopus, Eyerly Monster, height limit none /1, kanofarten - swinging pirate ship, height limit 1, 1m /1, 2m alone. The 65m tall / 220-foot-tall tower is a standard S&S Power Space Shot, an attraction designed to replicate the feeling of skydiving. The ride is not included with standard admission, opened in 1996, made by SkyCoaster. SpinSpider - a giant swing, opened in 2009, height limit 1, sverre - Wave Swinger, height limit 1, 1m. Store Radiobiler - Bumper cars, height limit 1, 2m /1, thors Hammer is a motion-based 3D dark ride made by ETF Ride Systems and P&P Projects that opened in June 2013
11.
Zoo
–
A zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also breed. The term zoological garden refers to zoology, the study of animals, the abbreviation zoo was first used of the London Zoological Gardens, which was opened for scientific study in 1828 and to the public in 1857. The number of animal collections open to the public around the world now exceeds to 1,000. In the United States of America alone, zoos are visited by over 180 million people annually, London Zoo, which opened in 1826, first called itself a menagerie or zoological forest, which is short for Gardens and Menagerie of the Zoological Society of London. The term zoological park was used for more facilities in Washington, D. C. and the Bronx in New York. Relatively new terms for zoos coined in the late 20th century are conservation park or biopark, adopting a new name is a strategy used by some zoo professionals to distance their institutions from the stereotypical and nowadays criticized zoo concept of the 19th century. The term biopark was first coined and developed by the National Zoo in Washington D. C. in the late 1980s, in 1993, the New York Zoological Society changed its name to the Wildlife Conservation Society and rebranded the zoos under its jurisdiction as wildlife conservation parks. The predecessor of the garden is the menagerie, which has a long history from the ancient world to modern times. The oldest known collection was revealed during excavations at Hierakonpolis, Egypt in 2009. The exotic animals included hippopotami, hartebeest, elephants, baboons, King Ashur-bel-kala of the Middle Assyrian Empire created zoological and botanical gardens in the 11th century BCE. In the 2nd century BCE, the Chinese Empress Tanki had a house of deer built, other well-known collectors of animals included King Solomon of the Kingdom of Israel and Judah, queen Semiramis and King Ashurbanipal of Assyria, and King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia. By the 4th century BCE, zoos existed in most of the Greek city states, the Roman emperors kept private collections of animals for study or for use in the arena, the latter faring notoriously poorly. The 19th-century historian W. E. H. Lecky wrote of the Roman games, first held in 366 BCE, At one time, a bear, four hundred bears were killed in a single day under Caligula. Under Nero, four hundred tigers fought with bulls and elephants, in a single day, at the dedication of the Colosseum by Titus, five thousand animals perished. Lions, tigers, elephants, rhinoceroses, hippopotami, giraffes, bulls, stags, even crocodiles, henry I of England kept a collection of animals at his palace in Woodstock, which reportedly included lions, leopards, and camels. The most prominent collection in medieval England was in the Tower of London and it was opened to the public during the reign of Elizabeth I in the 16th century. During the 18th century, the price of admission was three half-pence, or the supply of a cat or dog for feeding to the lions, the animals were moved to the London Zoo when it opened. The oldest zoo in the still in existence is the Tiergarten Schönbrunn in Vienna
12.
Public aquarium
–
A public aquarium is the aquatic counterpart of a zoo, which houses living aquatic animal and plant specimens for public viewing. Most public aquariums feature tanks larger than those kept by home aquarists, since the first public aquariums were built in the mid-19th century, they have become popular and their numbers have increased. Most modern accredited aquariums stress conservation issues and educating the public, the first public aquarium was opened in London Zoo in May 1853, the Fish House, as it came to be known, was constructed much like a greenhouse. P. T. Barnum quickly followed in 1856 with the first American aquarium as part of his established Barnums American Museum, in 1859, the Aquarial Gardens were founded in Boston. The old Berlin Aquarium opened in 1869, the building site was to be Unter den Linden, in the centre of town, not at the Berlin Zoo. The aquariums first director, Alfred Brehm, former director of the Hamburg Zoo from 1863 to 1866, with its emphasis on education, the public aquarium was designed like a grotto, part of it made of natural rock. The Geologische Grotte depicted the strata of the earths crust, the grotto also featured birds and pools for seals. The Aquarium Unter den Linden was a three-story building, machinery and water tanks were on the ground floor, aquarium basins for the fish on the first floor. Because of Brehms special interest in birds, a huge aviary, the Artis aquarium at Amsterdam Zoo was constructed inside a Victorian building in 1882, and was renovated in 1997. At the end of the 19th century the Artis aquarium was considered state-of-the-art, prior to its closing on September 30,2013, the oldest American aquarium was the National Aquarium in Washington, D. C. founded in 1873. This was followed by the opening of public aquariums, San Francisco, Woods Hole, New York, La Jolla, Honolulu, Detroit, Philadelphia, San Francisco. For many years, the Shedd Aquarium was the largest aquarium in the United States until the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta opened 2005, the first Japanese public aquarium, a small freshwater aquarium, was opened at the Ueno Zoo in 1882. In 2005, the Georgia Aquarium, with more than 8 million U. S. gallons of marine and fresh water, the aquariums notable specimens include whale sharks and beluga whales. Modern aquarium tanks can hold millions of litres of water and can house large species, including dolphins and this is accomplished through thick, clear acrylic glass windows. Aquatic and semiaquatic mammals, including otters, and seals are cared for at aquariums. Some establishments, such as the Oregon Coast Aquarium or the Monterey Bay Aquarium, have aquatic aviaries, modern aquariums also include land animals and plants that spend time in or near the water. For marketing purposes, many aquariums promote special exhibits, in addition to their permanent collections, some have aquatic versions of a petting zoo. The Monterey Bay Aquarium has a tank filled with common types of rays which visitors are encouraged to touch
