Photos: Riverbanks Zoo opens renovated aquarium and reptile center

The Riverbanks Zoo & Garden celebrated the return of a renovated centerpiece March 2.

Gov. Henry McMaster and Rep. Joe Wilson were among those on hand as the attraction that straddles Lexington and Richland counties and welcomes more than 1 million guests each year cut a ceremonial ribbon and let the public see the newly upgraded Darnall W. and Susan F. Boyd Aquarium & Reptile Conservation Center. 

The $10 million renovations to the center, made possible by the Boyd Foundation, are part of the ongoing Bridge to the Wild improvement plan for the zoo. In the near future, it hopes to also add a restaurant and multipurpose facility with a large deck on the banks of the Saluda River along with a walk-through orangutan habitat and more.

McMaster praised the upgrades to the aquarium and reptile center, which includes a new desert biome and large windows to see into the facility’s conservation labs where it tends to threatened species like coral and geckos.

“You can take a child and take him or her through this place, and that will excite them about learning, that will help them in their education,” McMaster said. “They get educated and trained, they can get a job, so more businesses will grow and flourish and homes will be comfortable and safe and more children will be produced, and the conversation just keeps cycling on, and we grow stronger and stronger.”

The foundation’s Susan Boyd was also on hand, expressing excitement for the forthcoming arrival of the facility’s most high-profile tenant, a giant Pacific octopus named Susan in her honor. She was presented with a large stuffed octopus as a token of the zoo’s appreciation.