VANCOUVER, B.C. – Sea critters from the Vancouver Aquarium are traveling across Canada in style to mark the country’s 150th birthday.

Having departed Vancouver in April, the AquaVan 150 is trekking from coast to coast for seven months offering Canadians from across the land a chance to see what marine life this country has to offer.

For the endeavor to be possible, the aquarium worked with Intercontinental Truck Body in Langley, B.C. to build a customized 26’ gooseneck Logan Coach trailer, which is being pulled with a fifth wheel hitch on a GMC Sierra 2500.

The trailer was designed to sustain such aquatic life as sea stars, crabs, sea anemones, and sea cucumbers, and includes the ability to house four independent mobile aquaria, each with a customized pump, chiller, and thermostat for the health of the sea-dwelling creatures. It also features a 70” flatscreen TV with videoconferencing capabilities to enhance communications with experts back at the aquarium during educational sessions.

This is the first time the Vancouver Aquarium has attempted such a journey in its 22-year history. The mobile aqua unit will visit 150 schools, camps, and various community events in nine provinces.

The AquaVan 150 has traveled as far east as Charlottetown, P.E.I. and is currently on its way west to Northern Ontario before ending the adventure in B.C. in November.