DULUTH - Halloween is one week away and Fox 21 found the creatures of the water living among all things spooky at Duluth's Great Lakes Aquarium.

It's all part of the annual "Scarium at the Aquarium" - and Fox 21 also got a sneak peek at the aquarium's newest exhibit, still under construction.

With Halloween sounds coming from all sorts of places, there's a different look and feel to the Great Lakes Aquarium this week.

"We kind of gear it towards younger kids," said Mary Pensak, volunteer coordinator at the aquarium. Some 75 different species of fish, reptiles, plants, and animals are lurking around in their enclosures, fascinating those visitors who make it through the haunted house to see them.

"Cool and creepy!" said 6-year-old Sean Holman, who had just wandered out of a huge inflatable haunted house.

Staff members have dressed up the facility for the ninth annual "Scarium at the Aquarium."  And in a scary economy, they did it at mininal cost, re-using old decorations.

"This year I have spent a grand total of maybe $10," said Pensak.

It's all about a Sunday afternoon of fun, not fundraising.

"Our Halloween party is a gift to the community children, and that's why children get in free," explained Pensak.  She said there is one change this year kids will notice.

"Instead of handing out gobs and gobs of candy, we're gonna be backing off from that and giving out spider rings and bat rings and little rubber snakes and bags of pretzels and juice boxes," Pensak said.

It's designed to be a creepy and scary event in a healthy way.

And speaking of all things creepy and sneaky, Fox 21 got a sneak peak of the aquarium's newest exhibit, the Freshwater Forest under construction.

"The most important lesson [of the new exhibit] is the role forests play in filtering water and enhancing water, the quality of fresh water in our ecosystem," said Executive Director Jack LaVoy.

Crews are putting it together one branch at a time, with hopes of having it completed before Christmas.

 "We've done this in a partnership with the Superior National Forest to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the creation of the forest," said LaVoy.

And those who haven't been to the aquarium lately will find lots of improvements.

"Over the last year and a half, we've had 16 major interactive exhibits that we've either completely replaced or totally rehabilitated," said LaVoy.

But this Sunday, Oct. 25, is all about Halloween fun for kids, with a nice perk for adults. 

"They get to go trick-or-treating throughout the building in 70 degrees with no rain, no snow and no wind," said Pensak.

Scarium at the Aquarium runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Kids age 11 and younger who come dressed in costumes get in free, though they must be accompanied by an adult who pays regular price  The day will include scuba divers feeding the sturgeons at 11 a.m., the river otters feeding at noon, and a magic show at 12:30 p.m.