I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of things to see and do at this location! I'm originally from Houston, so I'm used to the massive aquarium out there, but this one is nothing to sneeze at! They have marine life, mammals, birds, interactive animal stations, a dining hall, a gift shop and more. I brought my teenager and baby here, and we all had a fun family time together. Various backdrops and life-sized cutouts made for fun photo ops with the kids. There's something for everyone to enjoy here. I highly recommend planning a visit! read more

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Me and my three kids recently visited the Austin Aquarium. We used to live in Austin and enjoyed coming here from time to time to see the aquatic life. I assumed it was the same. Sadly they have added Lemurs and a sloth. If you pay enough you can go into the enclosures with these animals. I was absolutely appalled. These mammals are not meant to live indoors inside tiny enclosures. Most of the fish tanks were also over crowded. Afterwards my parents informed me that the aquarium has been sued for people getting bit by the lemurs. Surprised?! I cannot believe they have not been shut down. Its too bad the owners have become so money hungry and no longer care about the well being of these animals. I should not have assumed it was the same....Please don't support the Austin Aquarium! read more

Very fun for kids but the the inside smells like a Guinea pig cage. Lots of animals besides fish and they seem fairly happy where they are (especially the fish, my favorite). The lighting inside was a bit weird and the parking lot looks shady but I'd blame that on the plaza itself. If you are looking for wild life in the Austin area it's your best bet and it's not too bad if you look past the quirks and smell. read more

Very sad experience. Animals don't need to be there. Staff don't seem to be around to watch after the exhibits. If you want to see an aquarium, wake up early, drive to corpus christi and visit the Texas State Aquarium. read more

This place was so interactive, we brought a family reunion group of 36 and had such a great time. Once you get past the initial smell (it animals), it's an awesome family time to be had. Make sure you get enough tokens for all of the experiences. There was a worker named Marcus he was so very helpful in our experience, very professional and knowledgeable in helping our group. 5 stars would definitely recommend. read more

What a horrible place. most of the employees were not wearing masks - nor were many customers. I've been to aquariums around the world. This is an expensive and filthy embarrassment! It's little more than a stinky indoor petting zoo, with a carnival atmosphere and improperly kept animals. The carp/koi and turtles crammed into a tank built for a quarter of their numbers. The capybara was a lonely soul trotting about in an agitated manner and the lemurs were definitely unhappy. We left feeling ripped off and dirty, desiring a shower. Charging extra to pet the lemurs seemed over the top. At least Seaworld is somewhat environmentally/habitat informed conscious. read more

Worse experience. They charge way too much and then want $3 for tokens to buy fish food from machines that don't work as in none of them worked. We had to flag down employees to unlock machines at all three we tried. We gave up and tried to get refi d on rest of tokens and were told no. Not no sorry just no. This place sucks read more

This place was awesome!!!!!! First, it was the week of spring break and it wasn't even packed or long wait time to do the interactions with the animals. We were a large family with approx 9 kids aged 10 months to 17 years old. We loved that we were able to interact with the animals! The turtle fish tanks were so cool even tho a turtle Snapped my 8 year old's finger. Quite funny and no damage was done to her finger! lol. The bird cage was really nice! The birds were everywhere! On my arm, head, arms etc!! Overall, we loved it and would recommend it for all! read more

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This place is an animal lover's worst nightmare. The animals are under intense stress from too small of enclosures. The cages are not cleaned in a timely manner. One of the workers literally told me not to walk on a section of flooring because there was "poop on the floor." The saddest exhibit is the penguin enclosure. One of the penguins was literally staring at the door to the enclosure acting as if it longed for a decent habitat. I could go on and in and on for hours about how sad, unnatural, and horrific of a place this is for animal welfare. They should be shut down. Drive 2 hours south and go to the San Antonio zoo. It's run by experts, not located in a shitty strip mall, and actually loves and cares for it's animals. Never will I ever bring my child or myself for that matter here again. read more

Took grandkids here and they had a great time. It's kinda grubby but the staff are amazing. Kids don't notice the grubby only us old folks do read more

What a fun place. There place is great for birthday parties. This aquarium is quite small, but there are still so many things and animals you can pet or feed. My favorite part is feeding and petting the stingrays and sharks. There are lemurs, sloths, fish, reptiles, and birds, etc. that you can interact with. read more

Austin Aquarium - Aquariums Near Me - Austin, Texas

This is a must-see destination for Austin animal lovers. For my money, the interactive mammal exhibits are the star of the show. It was fun watching ring-tailed lemurs crawl all over my kids. :-) read more

Austin Aquarium - Humans and lemurs having fun together. - Aquariums Near Me - Austin, Texas

Went here when visiting a friend in Austin a few weeks ago. I'm not sure aquarium is the right name for it but we enjoyed it so much! We got to hang out with lemurs and feed sting rays and triple huge shout out to Ryan for giving us the coolest Sloth interaction. It's a little pricey to do the interactions but completely worth it if you can swing it. read more

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Had so much fun taking my little brother there for the first time! The animals have a lot of free reign to do anything they want which I think is really neat. Freaked me out a bit but we had so much fun and he got to experience a lot of cool new things. read more

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I've been to many aquariums in my life time cause I am a big fan of the sea life. However, this place was such a huge disappointment. I liked that they had a teacher's discount and if you played next door at Indigo Play and keep your receipt, you give half off your ticket. (Same goes if you go to the aquarium first and then Indigo Play.) Our toddler was also free I'm glad we didn't pay full price. As we entered, you immediately feel the heat hit you. Visiting with a toddler, that is not the best environment you'd want to take your little one. I asked if it would get cooler and got an quick "no". They are big with the feeding the animals which I'm a little weary by if they feed these animals ahead of time on a schedule or do they starve them so that the guest have that experience of feeding. If it's the latter then I am disgusted. A few of the reptiles and fish that you can touch looked like they haven't been carefully cared for or cleaned. Flies everywhere. This might be fun if you're little one is older and brave enough to touch the animals but we don't think it's worth it and will definitely NOT be back. We didn't feel safe with the lack of safety protocols for COVID. We felt crowded. We did like that were was hand washing stations everywhere for after you touched the animals. TL;DR Save your money and travel to Houston, Dallas, or Corpus Christi for their aquarium. read more

This is the worst place I have ever been. The overwhelming smell when you walk in should have been enough for me to turn around. The poor animals are in enclosures that are WAY too small for them. All of the "petting" tanks for the fish, etc. are low enough for a two year old to get into. It is extremely uncomfortable and we spent a total of 5 min in the place. Please do not go here and support this animal cruelty. I wish I had read more reviews before going. 0 stars if I could. read more

Wow incredibly overpriced. This place doesn't even compare to anything else - tops 30minutes to see everything - it's all about the gift shop and nickel and dime you left and right. The animals look sad and the upkeep is awful. Can't believe the city of Austin let's this place keep animals. I'd avoid this place at all costs. read more

I took my niece and daughter in one evening and it wasn't crowded at all, not like during the day. We loved that they don't have a mask policy which I noticed is a lot of people's complaints. Each person has the right to choice and if you don't feel safe then don't go. Staff were friendly and working on feeding all the animals their dinner, that was fun to get to watch! So many exhibits that you can touch the animals. Looked like they were moving in a ton of new planes for exhibits which is so great. We went in with ring tail lemurs and was told they are young and learning all their commands. They were so cute and she gave us lots of information. The ones about the animals being lonely cause they were by themselves, if you read up on the animal it will tell you if in the wild they live in groups or solitary. We had plenty of staff giving us great information. So it seems they've heard the concerns and working on them! We will be going back very soon! read more

It did NOT pass the vibe check. Dead animals, dilapidated equipment, and almost zero educational content provided. Stay home and watch Animal Planet. read more

PETA get here now! 1 star because the fish and animals are beautiful. I left the Austin Aquarium truly sad. The place is in disrepair and smells. I don't think it has been cleaned since the 90s. If all of the fish are alive, why does it smell like an old fish market? Also, we spotted open wiring above the water tanks. We saw leaking tanks. Unbelievable! Talk with your money and take it elsewhere! Read this before you go: https://www.peta.org/blog/austin-aquarium-a-strip-mall-petting-zoo-dump/ read more

I wish we felt differently, but couldn't help but leave feeling sad for the animals. It was poorly managed (though most staff was friendly and did seem to care about the animals), dirty and without sunlight for most, if not all animals. Fish tanks were crowded and hands are welcomed in these tanks--whether hands are dirty or cleaned with sanitizer, that is what's being put into their habitat. I also saw monkeys (lemurs and howler monkeys) overcrowded and agitated in small spaces and being handled by the visitors with masks below their noses. No one addressed this. During covid, I would expect no handling of animals and even more restrictions around how to properly wear a mask and clean hands upon entering. From what I understand, covid CAN be transmitted to certain animals, including monkeys. More is being learned about this issue. This should be a safety issue for your customers and animals. I understand we are limited in enrertainment these days, but the animals here are even more limited and confined. Their health and saftey should be the priority. I would urge management to reevaluate the practices here for the sake of its animals and for a better quality experience for its patrons. read more

I'll be honest, at first I was hesitant to come in because I've never seen an aquarium in a shopping plaza. Devin was amazing. Actually the entire staff was. But Devin told us to check out the porcupine and honestly it was the best experience. The staff is extremely knowledgeable about the creatures. Devin shows so much excitement and passion and was very kind. He answered all our questions and shared fun facts about the animals. He was incredibly informative and helpful. The staff attended to our needs and we're quick to help if we had any questions. They are highly trained and it felt so genuine that they loved their jobs. I also saw that they were constantly cleaning. 10/10 recommend. read more

It was conflicting because it was fun, just in need of improvement. I had a great time and so did those with me. The staff was incredibly friendly and helpful and knew their stuff when quizzed, they put the safety and wellbeing of the large animals first during interactions which I loved and wished they did for the small ones as well. Many enclosures were wonderful quality and all were in great hygiene. Of course there are complications and concerns though, this zoo is not Accredited by the association of zoos and aquariums and has a wide variety of touch experiences and interactions for sale, some of which are questionable especially with low age limits and low barriers, I watched a child separate with his mother and put his hand in the 'free hand cleaning tank' he almost instantly began to squeeze the poor cleaner shrimp in a fist. I intervened the shrimp was ok , but it made me wonder about all the animals (some of which are more sensitive or have the ability to bite) he had easy and potentially unsupervised access to like the lizard boat, stingrays, tortoises and sharks. Some of the reptile and penguin enclosures were definitely lacking in space, and humidity. read more

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Last week, my boyfriend and I came here while visiting Austin. We've set this goal for ourselves to visit as many well-intentioned aquariums as possible throughout the country. Granted, we haven't been to TONS yet, but this one is BY FAR the best experience we've had at an aquarium in regards to their hands-on features and staffing. We loved being able to feed the octopus and stingrays and sit in with the lemurs and interact with the kinkajous and learn about all of these amazing animals. You can truly tell that the staff are all passionate about these animals and want to pass that passion onto others. One huge thing that we loved was how much the staff paid attention to us; We would ask to see a certain animal and if that exhibit wasn't available at the moment, they would personally come look for us to bring us back to the exhibit. They never rushed us out of enclosures and always made sure no questions were left unanswered. I want to mention a certain staff member, his name slips my mind, but he was with us at the kinkajou exhibit. He seems to truly admire each animal that he works with and loves showing others why these animals are so great. He asked us to fill out a review card at the aquarium before we left as a little reminder that the work that this staff does truly makes people happy, BUT we forgot, I'm so sorry!!! So I hope he sees this! Please, staff of the Austin Aquarium, keep it up!!! read more

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This place is way too small and the animals look stressed. Whoever owns this place obviously does not care about the well-being of the animals and is just looking for profit. :-( read more

Absolutely sad. So many of the enclosures and tanks are overcrowded and way too small to accommodate the animal inside.. especially many of the fish tanks, the octopus and one of the eels, even the python. There was a lemur and her baby secluded in a smaller enclosure and the mama lemur seemed extremely stressed. Please don't spend your money here. So many of the animals look depressed, and the place reeked of urine and many enclosures were filthy. I'm honestly shocked at the good reviews, clearly shows a lack of education and/or care for animals/aquatic life. read more

Austin Aquarium - Baby sharks crowded and very lethargic - Aquariums Near Me - Austin, Texas

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I never had the desire to visit the Austin Aquarium but we had family in town and my son wanted to go. An aquarium in a strip mall sums up exactly how it feels. Set your expectations low and get ready to feel sad for a building full of animals. As soon as you open the front door you are hit by the smell of urine. There was a parrot at the entrance missing all the feathers on its head. There are small enclosures with lemurs and other animals which you can use tokens to visit but there is no one around that could assist with this, so it's feels like the worst idea ever. The animals look off, not sure how else to put it. The penguins had a whole play area but instead stood at the door that leads to there cages I'm guessing. One of the penguins had some sort of growth on it's beak and it was missing feathers. The glass on all of the tanks are covered with fingerprints. You can touch a lot of animals including rays, turtles , wallabies, bearded dragons, koi; but beware because the wash stations are few and far between and with empty paper towel holders. At one point I thought I was in a fever dream as my son was almost barreled over by an employee with a cart stacked 6 feet high with boxes of stuffed animals and then a women dressed as Belle from Beauty and Beast was just sort of lurking around. There is very little education on the fish, sea creatures, mammals, and birds at the aquarium. Instead you are surrounded by a free for all of small children and adults aggressively touching all the animals. All in all this was a gross experience. The animals need to be at a location that will properly care for them and this "aquarium" needs to close. read more

The aquarium is great. Lively staff. Happy animals. For that are the stars. But don't go now unless you want Covid. When we first arrived it was fine, socially distant and comfortable. But as crowds arrived they let everyone in. It wasn't just crowded - it was packed . Absolutely criminally packed. Just trying to leave as fast as we could we were literally shoulder to shoulder with 25 others just in the hall leading out. I'm not sure of capacity, it's a big place - but there were at least over 300 people inside. Super disturbing and I regret went at all right now. read more

Do not go here. The animals are severely neglected. It was hard to see. The exhibits are filthy and animals are not properly cared for. Austin, do better. read more

We had a great time!! We came on a Monday so not too busy and the staff were all friendly, knowledgeable and made it a great experience!! Both kids and the adults all had a great time!! read more

Highly disappointed in our experience. From a pandemic perspective: Upon arrival, no one checked our temperatures and they didn't follow COVID-19 protocols. Patrons were not properly wearing masks, and were not socially distancing. There were far too many people inside the facility. The exhibit itself left much to be desired. The fish tanks felt over-crowed, with fish on top of one another. The touching tanks lacked protocol for washing hands before touching animals. The health and well-being of the animals did not seem like a priority for the facility. The water was murky and stinky. Overall, sanitation doesn't seem to be a priority. The snack bar served Dominos pizza at $3 a slice. While I appreciate the convenience of being able to get pizza, take-out pizza at an inflated rate wasn't what I was hoping for. We cut our visit short, with disappointed children and hungry stomachs. read more

This is a small aquarium but it's very interactive place for kids (tokens required for feedings and personal interaction experiences). You can pet a lot of animals at not cost. You can also take some great up close pictures. They have a place for birthday parties and they do have a small food bar as well as a gift shop. Worth a visit for sure. You can see everything in about an hour. read more

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This review is a bit overdue. I visited this establishment on 09/29/2018 for "scout day". This place is ideal for those who seek opportunities to interact with/reach out and touch animals that they normally wouldn't be able to. The day we visited this establishment, there were many staff on hand to teach scouts about the animals as well as provide interesting facts about individual species. The aquarium itself is a bit un-kept and dated. However, this establishment is worth a trip if you are seeking an up close and personal experience. read more

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Go to the aquarium, witness how terrible the conditions are for the animals, and then demand a refund. Let them know that the Covino brothers are a disgrace to animal care. If you care remotely about animals, please do your part to close this business down for good. Fish packed into small tanks and animals packed into small cages. The employees staffed did the best that they can, but the owners have the facility set up under the cruelest conditions. Was inside for less than 10 minutes before my partner and I left feeling sad and upset at the mistreatment these animals have to deal with. If needing more, please read about their Controversies and Violations here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Aquarium#Controversies_and_violations read more

I would highly recommend NOT coming here. It's so ridiculously overpriced for really nothing super exciting. It was just me, my husband, and daughter with 10 tokens (to buy food and such for the animals.) $100! And that was discounted because my husband was former military. The staff just looks like they don't want to be there. It becomes so crowded so quickly because of how small the place is because it's literally located inside of a strip mall! And most of the animals just were not having it :( It was just a dark, dingy, dirty, boring experience. Please don't waste your money! read more

Nice experience overall. Not the largest aquarium but lots of interactive exhibits. Staff were very friendly and seemed to enjoy their jobs. Would recommend. read more

I really should have dug deeper when I was looking for places to visit in Austin. I was fooled by the high star rating, and also the assumption that a place like this wouldn't be allowed to operate. I should have used common sense. First things first, there's plenty of parking and the staff is nice. It's located in a strip mall, which gave us the first clue that it was too small for the price, let alone the animals. When we entered we noticed the horrible smell. You expect some feral smells with animal exhibits, but this was different. A friend who has worked in home maintenance for years commented that it smelled as if there could be mold somewhere in the walls, which is possible considering how humid the place is kept. When we bought our tickets online we also got some tokens, which can be used in food dispensers to feed the fish, capybara, etc. I didn't think about it until we saw the tanks themselves, but I guess they have to keep the environments bare so those token-bought food capsules are in high demand? If there's no sea weed or much else of natural features that could naturally feed them, then the animals stay eager. They pretty much just have big old rocks in their tanks, no plants or anything. Oh wait, there's an abundance of snails, which I honestly believe is an accident. The capybara, which as a species are very social animals, was alone in its small pen with no enrichment except a pool. It sat so still, just like the iguana, and the turtle, and ducks. One penguin with what looked like irritated feathers just stayed standing against the wall, even when there was a chance to eat. There's simply not enough space for these animals to be happy. Overstimulated, sure, with the barrage of children's noises and constant, unsupervised touching and feeding, but I sincerely doubt that they're happy. The stingray and koi pond were the most popular tanks, the latter of which looked like the seafood section at a farmer's market. They pile on top of each other when someone approaches. It's entertaining to kids, but they shouldn't have to fight so hard to eat. The stingrays have curled tails, which I read later could mean a sign of distress or malnutrition. One worker walked around with a lemur, and it looked calm enough for petting. My kid declined to use her tokens for one-on-one sessions, though. I'm glad because later, after looking this place up (I actually googled "How is Austin Aquarium legal?") I learned they have a history of covering up lemur and other animal bite-attacks of guests and their own employees. During our visit, it sounded as if the birds and lemurs were upset, which I fully understand now considering these animals rarely, if ever, get fresh air and sunshine. My husband commented that you could take out half of the animals and there still wouldn't be enough space for them. I can't deny that the workers were lovely and I'm sure they care for the animals. It doesn't seem staffed enough to keep the animals safely monitored though. What's to stop someone with something harmful on their skin, like some types of sunblock, from sticking their hand in the cleaner-shrimp tank and getting those animals sick? Or contaminating the water? Or just petting too hard? There doesn't seem to be a happy middle ground when it comes to the animals' energy. They're either sluggish as they endure constant touching, or leaping/flying/swimming around their tiny enclosures frantically. It's worth noting that in ACCREDITED aquariums and zoos, they monitor their animals' food intake for health purposes. Realistically, how would Austin Aquarium know if animals have over- or under-eaten, if guests are allowed to use their tokens at their leisure? I knew that a certain animal activist group had made accusations against this place, but I had initially dismissed them because of how misleading they can be. Believe me when I say that I now believe every word they claim about this "aquarium." I hope the local government takes steps to force Austin Aquarium to improve, or to shut it down altogether so that the animals can be sent to places where they can see the sky. read more

Not worth the money at all, over crowded, smells horrible, all the animals look absolutely miserable and are in tight, dirty, disgusting cages/tanks. Looks like the made a make shift aquarium out of an old grocery store. I honestly felt so bad for the animals and I'm sure they kill off many of them every year due to their living conditions. If I could give this place negative stars I would, there was hardly any staff around watching or supervising. Please save your money and do not go here, if you've never seen a zoo or aquarium in your entire life you might think this is cool or how they should be, this is not the way to start. read more

Gosh I wish I would have read reviews on this place . The bad reviews are not lying. Parents please be careful with your littles as they offer animal feed to feed their wildlife and you may risk your children getting bitten. This place is very filthy and the smell is horrendous it slaps you in the face as you walk in. I'm very sensitive to smell so our visit literally was 15 mins long . Spoiler here but if you want to know the Types of animals you will see there: Some jelly fish , sting rays, one octopus in a very murky tank, koi fish galore tank with ducks swimming I wish I had a picture of that to show, , sharks , beavers, they also had chickens and reptiles tanks . Oh and a few tropical birds macaws and a tucan. My major complaints is that they had a beautiful tortoise freely walking by were the entire public can walk. It had a balloon attached with its name . It was hiding in a corner . It broke my heart completely as a man was standing by it and kicked it to see if it would move ! The f'n lack of respect for animals is clearly seen here and since it's sort of like a petting zoo with expensive feed these animals must be starved so the public can feed them.tanks looked disgusting and filthy . Please don't come here. For Austin to allow such a place to exist is very saddening. This place really should be shut down and animals should be placed in much better environments. The filth in this aquarium is very obvious the quick pictures I captured ther read more

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It is a very small aquarium compared to others we saw before. It was a place to take kids to wander about without getting too tired but doing something interesting with their time. There were a lot of interactive options with the animals and fishes. We found that the tokens to get the feed was a little expensive for the amount provided and also the gift shop items were expensive. All in all its a good place to take your little ones to spend their energy on a weekend. read more