The Monterey Bay Aquarium will replace its longtime Splash Zone gallery with a new bilingual exhibit called Ocean in Motion / La Danza del Mar, opening Saturday, Nov. 7.

The interactive space on the Aquarium's second floor, near the kelp forest exhibit, features penguin animations on the walls, tactile shapes for children to explore and a coral reef play area where kids can play hide-and-seek, according to Monterey County NOW, which toured the exhibit Oct. 26.

Emily Saich, the Aquarium's vice president of exhibitions, said the team spent several years planning the project. They built on the previous gallery, incorporated new research and aimed to create connections between children and ocean animals that go beyond traditional learning, Saich told Monterey County NOW.

Some areas "are welcoming for young children to play and move their bodies and interact with the environment around them, mimicking what animals might do," Saich said.

Children can waddle like an African penguin, hide in a coral reef or play with water. The space is lit by natural light.

One of the exhibit's stars is Rey, short for Monterey. She is a 12-year-old visually impaired African penguin who hatched at the Aquarium and has lived there her entire life.

The exhibit also includes eight original soundtracks matched to the animals' movements. Composer Douglas Morton and Kar Labs, a collective supporting young composers in Africa's wildlife industry, created the music. Kar Labs focused on the African penguin tracks after the Aquarium connected with the group at a Wildlife Film Festival, Saich said.

The Aquarium's exhibit page describes the gallery as built especially for children ages 2 to 6, though it welcomes visitors of all ages. Features include a 20-foot living coral reef, big-belly seahorses and leaping blennies alongside an expanded African penguin habitat.

Members and donors can preview the exhibit before the public opening. Donor previews are scheduled for Oct. 30 and Oct. 31. Member previews run Oct. 31 through Nov. 3. An adults-only member preview is set for Sunday, Nov. 1, from 8 to 10 a.m.

General admission to the Aquarium is $65 for adults, $50 for youth ages 5 to 17 and seniors 70 and older, and free for children 4 and under, according to the travel site Travel Realizations. Tickets are available at montereybayaquarium.org.

The Aquarium is at 886 Cannery Row in Monterey.