One Part of the Now Gone Maine Aquarium on Route One in Saco Lives on

This hasn't been around since 1997, but for some reason - the website is still active.

Zac McDorr, who started the Bath Maine History Center Facebook group, wrote a story for the Coastal Journal a couple of years ago about a trip he won to get a behind-the-scenes tour of the now gone Maine Aquarium on Route One in Saco across from Funtwon/Splashtown.

In the article, he describes the amazing day he had that led him to want to work at the Maine Aquarium. Around the time he thought his dream would come true in 1997, the aquarium sadly shut down.

But for some odd reason, 25 years later, the website is still active. It's a relic. A pause in time and like all websites from around that time, it's not very good - but it is awesome to see!

There is an updated message on the home page about a reward for photos and/or videos of the old Maine Aquarium. There are also six pages from the president of the Maine Aquarium, Raymond Cronkite, about how and why the aquarium has not been rebuilt as planned. But when you stick to the website, it's quite a journey back.

The website takes you on a tour where you can learn about:

• the duck pond
• Magellanic penguins from South America
• seals - Sparky and Fuzzy
• fish tank and reef communities
• sharks

All that will get you hungry. That's when you can take a step back in time to the Forty Fathoms Banquet room. They were open seven days a week, and you could rent the banquet room for special occasions.

They loved hosting field trips and their website was super kid friendly. They offered discounts for groups of kids. A lot of us went on field trips to the Maine Aquarium with our school.

What a blast from the past. It's fun to remember things from decades ago when life seemed just a tad more simple. Even if it wasn't, it just seemed to be. The Maine State Aquarium in Boothbay Harbor won't be open until next year as they finish some renovations. But you still have an option to take the kids to see some pretty cool ocean life in Maine.