Yellowknife, N.W.T. - Sea life will be up close and personal this month thanks to the Vancouver Aquarium.

The AquaVan, which is a miniature version of the aquarium's exhibits, will be making its way to Hay River this weekend just in time for the Hay Days festival.

The van will feature all types of small sea creatures and people will actually get a chance to touch and hold some of them.

The aquarium's manager of curriculum programs, Jonathan Hultquist, said people are usually quite excited when they hold a sea creature for the first time.

"They feel different than the way that we feel, or the things that we're used to touching. They might feel something that feels a little slimy or something that's a little prickly. So I think there's a lot of joy that people have when they learn and discover something new, so it's really a discovery."

The trip is an historic one as it will be the first time the van has visited the territory and Hultquist said it's an important visit.

"It helps us to broaden our reach geographically and to carry our mission out to more parts of Canada. And the Vancouver Aquarium's mission is to help conserve aquatic life."

The van will be in Yellowknife in time for the start of the air show on July 14th.

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