After months of anticipation, the Don and Ruth Furman Aquatic Center will open with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. May 29.

The Furman Aquatic Center is located at 1635 13th St., by Frederiksen Court and Brookside Park. Open houses for the center will take place from 1 – 4 p.m. May 15 and 22. The open houses allow for the community to tour the facility before the grand opening and buy season passes at a 10 percent discount rate before the pool opens May 29.

The new aquatic center will feature a 550-foot lazy river, with a waterfall and two water slides, both over 200 feet in length. Also included is a 50-meter pool that has a 150-foot drop slide, basketball hoops, floatables, 3-meter platform, 1-meter spring board and multiple lanes for swimming. Children age 7 and under will have a 5,000-square-foot recreational pool that includes bubblers, spray features and a play structure in the middle of the pool, with both a family slide and a toddler slide.

Nancy Carroll, Director of Ames Park and Recreation department, believes that the aquatic center will be a big hit not just for families but for college students as well. “It has something for all ages, from toddlers to older adults. When we were planning it we wanted to hit each demographic so that there would be a reason for everyone to go.

The summer hours for the pool will include adult lap swim from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., with open swim from 1 – 8 p.m.

The cost for ISU students to attend the water park for a day is $4.50 with school ID card. ISU students can also purchase a season-long pass for $75. The pass can be used at both the Furman Aquatic Center and the municipal pool. The pass would be good May 28 – September 6. Students can buy the pass at the Ames City Hall Community Center. If students buy before May 22 they will receive a ten percent discount off the original $75 pass.

To accommodate the anticipated large crowds, CyRide will feature the Aqua Route, which will start May 29 and will run until fall classes start at Iowa State. The route travels from Grand Avenue; 13th Street to the aquatic center, before traveling down Stange Road. The Aqua Route will run from 12:30 – 8 p.m. daily.

Carroll says the new route will be a huge convince for students, and encourages students to “go green” and take CyRide to the aquatic center. “Students are used to taking the bus or walking to campus, it’s not a stretch to take the bus there.”