POULSBO — It didn’t take families long to find their way back to the Poulsbo Marine Science Center. The aquarium opened its doors Saturday at 10 a.m. for the first time since flood damage forced its closure in November. By 11 a.m. the central tide pool was surrounded by children. Little fingers prodded anemones and groped for starfish.

Michelle Grigsby brought her son Hayden to the aquarium for a play stop before his  fourth birthday party. Grigsby said she missed trips to the Science Center over the winter.

“I was bummed that it closed when it did,” she said. “It’s such a great place to bring the kids.”

Aquarium staff and volunteers were happy to be back to work as well. Longtime helpers Barbara Erickson and Liz Raun rolled up their sleeves and plucked critters from the pool for children to examine up close.

“These little guys are what makes it wonderful,” Erickson said.

Life at the center is returning to normal after a long winter hiatus.

A frozen water pipe burst in the space above the aquarium during a storm a few days before Thanksgiving. The flood did extensive damage to the aquarium building, which is owned by the City of Poulsbo.

The Science Center was forced to close, and most of the ceilings and walls in the building were torn out and replaced, said Aquarium Director Patrick Mus. The city’s insurance covered the cost of repairs, about $150,000.

While devastating the aquarium, the flood also brought the Science Center’s financial relationship with the city under scrutiny. The city council is now close to finalizing a new lease with the center.

“It was disturbing at times,” Mus said of the winter closure. “But things have worked out.”

There is still work to do. Renovations in the center’s classroom aren’t yet complete and the aquarium needs a new octopus to display. Mus said he secured the permit needed to collect a new specimen and should have one ready soon.

The center’s doors may have been closed for the winter, but life went on for the marine inhabitants inside. Some of the fish seemed to have enjoyed the break from spectators and are more comfortable in their surroundings, Mus said. Most of the species have been reproducing and are more plentiful now than before the closure.

Mus plans to debut two new exhibits soon. One will be a eelgrass tank with tube-snouts, sandlances and other shoreline fish. The other will feature a forest of bull kelp. School field trips can also resume soon, Mus said.

Despite the trials of the winter, the aquarium’s future is bright Mus said.

“We’re starting out, in essence, anew again,” he said. “It will flourish, as long as we have community support. I truly appreciate the community that is behind us.”

The Poulsbo Marine Science Center is located at 18743 Front St. NE. It is free and open to the public from Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.