New England Aquarium

Had an afternoon off from a conference I was in town for and heard that this was the best aquarium in America by a few different people so I figured I had to check it out. Maybe I’m not much of a marine life person because I wasn’t too impressed with it any more than I was other aquariums I had seen. The focal point is definitely the Penguins, which I definitely loved.

Myrtle! So amazing to see the animals and sea creatures the aquarium has, especially Myrtle the giant sea turtle. I recommend watching her during the feeding times on the 4^th floor. I was pretty disappointed that the 20 pound lobster was hidden, was so anxious to see him! I love seeing the penguins interacting with each other, the juveniles in particular. The ray touch tank provides 10 different kinds of rays that you can touch, which was my favorite exhibit. The aquarium was pretty small compared to the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California, but had so many interesting an amazing creatures! The anaconda was pretty awesome too. The staff that I interacted with were all very friendly and welcoming. The Great White showing at the IMAX theater was worth watching as well. I also recommend eating outside of the aquarium, not very many choices, food was decent, and not worth the price.

WAIT. WE DID NOT SEE JELLYFISH!!! So 4 stars.
We visited on the 3^rd of January and were very much excited.
Before entering the aquarium, we saw some adorable seals. When we walked in, we saw many penguins! They were by the water fountains looking like they were taking a shower. Some were swimming and had their cute little butts above the water.
We saw many types of fish – my favorite had to be the blowfish or the baby stingray. They were the cutest. We also saw a huge turtle (Myrtle).
It was dim in the aquarium and people bascally walked up and down ramps to see tanks upon tanks of fish and frogs and anacondas.
Also there was a station where people were able to touch sea stars and anemones. The water was freeeeezing, but it was a great experience nonetheless.
Overall, this was one of my favorite Boston attractions :)

Love the seals, sea lions, penguins, sea turtles, jellyfish at this local Boston aquarium. Given the small space available in bean town, this is pretty good. The volunteers are great at answering inquiries and q+a’s, the iMax theater is huge and the seats are plentiful, more importantly, the sea animals are just beautiful!
We spent over 8 hours here, so you can spend a whole day here. The live shows are great, and the staff members are very nice as well.

I love Aquariums and was so excited to visit here! It’s located right on the water with a gorgeous view! I had a jam packed day so got to the aquarium right as it opened at 9a which was amazing! I felt like the only one there taking my own private back stage tour!
You walk in and are welcomed by a bunch of penguins! It was amazing! They are swimming around, standing on the rocks and waddling around. So amazing! There are different sections for the different types, all of them adorable!
What I found truly amazing about this location is the vast tube like aquarium multiple stories high. It was fantastic to walk up and explore exhibits all while circling this tank full of various aquatic life.
Make sure to say hi to the sea turtles! One photo bombed my selfie and followed me up the ramp, such a magical experience with these creatures!

Smallest aquarium I’ve been to in my life. Skip it and take your kids to MFA Boston or the historic museum across the water. Very disappointed.
The giant ocean pool at the top has glass railing that goes up to 4ft. That’s dangerous considering the pool is 4 stories deep.

I’ve been to the aquariums in Chicago, Toronto and Lisbon, and this one definitely did not disappoint!
The giant tank in the middle is probably my favourite — I love that you get to go up/​down to the different levels via the ramp that wraps around the tank. This allows you to get up close with the giant sea turtles and other fish and plants too.
My friend and I also quite enjoyed the exhibit for touching stingrays and the one for starfish (and other creatures such as hermit crabs). The staff was really knowledgeable and seemed to be very passionate about their job, eagerly sharing interesting facts about the creatures.
We didn’t stay long enough to catch any shows/​performances (there seemed to be quite a few based on the brochure) — but did catch a glimpse of the one on penguins, which seems interesting and educational.
Overall, I had a great time there. Not a perfect score because I felt the price ($ 27 for adults) tend to be on the high side.

From start to finish, it took us about three hours. Then again, we didn’t have children with us. If you have children, it will take about maybe four to five hours. That of course includes lunch.
That being said, it’s literally surrounded by excited children. Just make way for them because their minds are like sponges and learning everything and are actually excited about learning. Love it!
They have all types of tanks. Coral reefs, salt water, Caribbean, seals, sea lions, octopus was unavailable (sniff, sniff), cuttlefish, squid, penguins, sting rays, lobsters, and more!
I had a chance to actually touch a sting ray. It was so smooth and velvety. I was beyond giddy. I’m petite. I can get away with that action and word. :)
I actually had a chance to see workers feeding the fishes and two scuba divers in the pool of fishes. One was the teacher. The other just graduated and they had to test how much she knows about weights (putting on and off the weights) as she needs to go tend to the fishes. Another used a hypodermic needle to shoot out food and another was hand tossed in live tiny fishes serving as food.
Utterly fascinating and I learned a lot.
We also took in the IMAX theater and saw the Underwater Sea world from Jack Cousteau’s son, as he continues the legacy. Things I learned about the lion head fish disturbing our sea life’s ecosystem.
It’s a good place to go on a rainy or sunny day.

Do you like penguins? If the answer to that is yes, then you want to go to the New England Aquarium right now! The aquarium is basically one huge multi-​floor tubular fish tank with multiple penguin exhibits and several smaller tanks around the perimeter. We got there right at penguin lunch time and I probably annoyed all of my friends with how many snapchats I sent them of penguins doing adorable penguin type stuff. (I might have a problem) (sorry not sorry)
Other things they have: an awesome touch tank with rays and sharks, seahorses, a terrifying electric eel, some local wildlife, several cute statues that make for great photo ops, seals and sea lions, a separate building for IMAX movies and did I mention penguins? Because they have those too! :)

This aquarium gets busy during peak season. I came here during Labor Day Weekend and it was really crowded.
The aquarium is structured around the main center tank and spirals around it. There are four floors, and there are tanks along the perimeter of each floor except the top floor. The top floor is mostly floor looking down into the tank. There is a small outside area where you can look at the sea lions and walrus.
I love jellyfish and there was only one small tank of them, and they were all the same species.
The tickets were $ 26, and in my opinion, not worth it. There are better and larger aquariums in the United States. I particularly like the Baltimore Aquarium, but I hear good things about the one in Atlanta, too. If you’re visiting Boston, I would not recommend taking the time to come here. There are other interesting things to do in the city.

On a Wednesday afternoon there were no visible lines at the ticketing area and people seemed to move fairly quickly through the entrance area. If you are college student or a senior you can get $ 2 off the regular admission while kids under 12 I believe are at a more reduced rate.
Upon entering the aquarium, the first level presents the penguins and the 4 story giant ocean tank is located in the very center. It apparently holds 200,000 gallons of salt water and sea turtles, stingrays, eels, and fish. The very top of the tank is cool to look at and once in a while the giant sea turtles come up to take a breather! A live presentation was happening when I was there. There are multiple hands-​on areas throughout the aquarium and seemed to be very interactive for the kids. I personally love the sea and it’s creatures so I had a wonderful time exploring the place, especially since I have not been to this specific aquarium for about 15 years now.
In addition to the aquarium tickets, you can buy tickets to their IMAX theatre of whale watch. It’s definitely a better deal to get them as a combo than separately. Their conservation and research programs are also interesting as they are quite involved in ocean health and marine animal rescue. At the end of my exploration (it took me about 2.5 hours inside the aquarium) I looked around the gift shop. There were plenty of cute items including stuffed animals, jewelry, clothing items, keychains, stationary, and more.
Overall a nice adventure and great place for school field trips, visits from anyone young to old, and even for those who want to volunteer. There were many groups of adults and children when I visited and even felt slightly crowded but I still managed to see everything I could. The only thing that I wish there were more of are the outdoor exhibits. Going to the aquarium once in awhile really is fun!

Très déçu par cette visite, l’aquarium est en travaux (2012) et le plus spectaculaire n’est pas visible

Wenn man sich nur die Aquarien und seine Becken anschaut, ist man ziemlich schnell durch. Wobei die Becken sehr schön eingerichtet sind, insb. in Verbindung mit Tieren, die sonst nicht im Wasser schwimmen (Uferbecken mit entsprechenden Vögeln). Auch die Möglichkeit manche der Meeresbewohner (unter Aufsicht) anzufassen ist genial und findet sich nicht überall…
Doch das spannende ist eigentlich das Rahmenprogramm. Mehrmals am Tag sieht man zB. den Taucher (wie oben bereits geschrieben). Ausserdem gibt es regelmäßige Talks zu verschiedenen Themen.
Und die Trainings der Pinguine und Seehunde sind auch eine spassige Angelegenheit. Die dort beigebrachten Tricks dienen aber nicht der allgemeinen Belustigung, sondern verbessert das Verhältnis zwischen Veterinär und Tieren.
Nimmt man sich also Zeit für das Rahmenprogramm ist der hohe Eintrittspreis (rund 22 $) sein Geld wert!

Ouvert du lundi au vendredi de 9h à 17h, samedi et dimanche de 9h à 18h.
Tarifs 2009: adulte $ 20,95, enfant $ 12,95.
A voir: un grand bassin circulaire (requins, raies, tortues), des pingouins, phoques et loutres de mer (dans des bassins minuscules, hélas). Quelques beaux aquariums cependant et plusieurs présentations commentées (à l’américaine !) d’une otarie facétieuse, devenue la mascotte de l’établissement.
D’avril à octobre, croisières proposées pour observer les baleines.

After completing the Duck Tour and stopping by Al’s Café, my friend and I meandered to the Aquarium. Prices are okay-​ish, just like you’d expect to pay at an Aquarium for the day. We entered and grabbed a map, then we were in awe for the rest of the time that we were there.
The huge tank in the middle is the selling point for me, and something I can’t quite get out of my head, even a week after seeing the tank. It’s this huge circular tank that rises four floors with all different kind of creatures inside of it. Sharks, sting rays, sea turtles, colorful fish, big fish, little fish, you name it. It’s overwhelming to think that something like this exists. Despite what you’d think about small fish being obliterated by much bigger fish, it just didn’t happen. There was a sort of mutual understanding that fish don’t eat other fish. I didn’t see it happen, but maybe it was there. Later, I would learn that they are well fed fishes as it is.
The penguins on the first floor were adorable. The kind of adorable that would make you want to jump into the water and give them a big hug. I successfully inhibited.
The seals were great too. They’re outside in this little circular viewing area. They did tricks and ate treats and all the stuff seals do when they’re bored, I guess.
Each floor has different cool things. I think my favorite part outside of the tank in the middle was the many different habitats they were able to replicate in the Aquarium. It’s amazing to think that you can have so many fish from around the world in each of these different habitats and make them all equally comfortable.
At any rate, if you have a child or a youngster I would urge any adult to bring him or her. It’s such a lovely experience for a kid and they definitely make it very interactive for all the children. One of the questions I loved was «How cold do you think the water is?» and they had a bar for the kids (and me, because let’s face it, I was excited to feel it too) to feel and try to guess how cold the water was. It’s so fun and definitely an environment where you can learn something.