Penguins are 'fun and funny'

After studying penguins in textbooks and on interactive white boards, second-graders at Memminger Elementary School had a chance to meet the aquatic birds Wednesday during a special preview of the South Carolina Aquarium's newest exhibit.

Watching one of the aquarium's four Magellanic penguins eat silver-colored capelin and herring in a single gulp, the children let out a collective "Ewwww!"

But their diets didn't detract from the birds' appeal.

"It was fun and funny when it waggled its tail," said 8-year-old Theodore Fryall.

Tyreq Epps, also 8, said he expected the birds to be larger but still ranked the penguins as his favorite part of the aquarium.

Memminger science lab teacher Elizabeth Joyner said some of the students who attended the event had never been to the aquarium. She hoped the VIP experience would stick with them as they gear up for state testing.

Photo Gallery

Penguins at the S.C. Aquarium

Four Magellanic penguins are in their new home at the South Carolina Aquarium, where they eat, swim and play in the aquarium's new Penguin Planet exhibit. Photos by Grace Beahm

Aquarium officials watched from the wings as their new stars strutted for camera-wielding media guests and wide-eyed children.

"This is just the culmination of a year's buildup of excitement, anticipation and planning," said aquarium president and chief executive Kevin Mills. "To see the kids interacting with our staff pays off."

A threatened warm-weather species that lives naturally off the coasts of Chile and Argentina and in the Falkland Islands, the Magellanic penguins arrived last month from SeaWorld San Diego and will remain at the aquarium for a year. Officials hope the birds, a proven draw, will boost visitor numbers even during the sluggish economy.

The Penguin Planet exhibit cost the aquarium about $162,000. It opens to the public Saturday. Admission is $16 for seniors 62 years and older; $10 for ages 2 to 11; and $17 for ages 12 to 61.

Reach Allyson Bird at 937-5594 or abird@postandcourier.com.