I'll keep this very honest. My daughter loves sea animals and this is the only aquarium in Austin. We're members there and it's way cheaper to get a membership if you're going more than 3 times a year. The actual aquarium is not the nicest looking or the biggest but it gets the job done and the kids really enjoy it. There are lemurs, sting rays, capybaras (think Encanto, iykyk), etc. lots to see and enjoy. They have their mascot tortoise walking around with a balloon tied around his shell, a mermaid that does glitter tattoos, stingray and shark feeding tank, basically a lot to keep the littles entertained. There is a scent that lingers around there but it's to be expected with the amount of animals crammed into this place. Also, this is a lifesaver activity with kids when it's triple digit heat outside. Wear clothes you would mind getting wet or dirty since they'll be getting their hands wet, OH! And don't forget some hand sanitizer as well. read more

Update January 2020: Had a marvelous visit with 3 young grandkids. Misty at the front was exceptionally nice to us and the kids when we went in. The parakeet room was amazing too. You sit with a small cup of millet in an aviary of about 100 parakeets. They land all over you and squabble for feeding rights some time. This is the first time either of these kids ever touched a bird and they loved the experience. The attendant, Mark, is obviously a bird lover and was nice, helpful and informative. January 2018: This place is amazing. Although a bit small, and not perfectly maintained (I'm sure the staff get paid the big-bucks), the interactivity of this place sets it apart from any aquarium I've ever visited. It's not cheap, but we bought tickets online and might have saved a little. Went with 2 adults, a 15 year old, a 6 and 8 year old. The amazing thing about this place is that you can touch and feed a lot of different animals. The Manta Rays came right up to you and almost climbed out of their tank for krill. The Kois splashed us they were so eager for feeding. The 8 year old only threw the food at the small sharks, he didn't want to get too close. For myself and the 15 year old, the birds were the best. We first bought (with tokens) food for Lorikeets. These beautiful, rainbow colored birds, are about twice the size of a parakeet. The very helpful handler brought out a small cup of a nectar-like liquid that they apparently love, with a bird on each hand. When she handed us each a bird and food, others quickly landed on our arms to feed. These birds were surprisingly heavy, but relatively polite to us and each other. One stood on my shoulder and screeched in my ear. Both of us were really fascinated with this experience. I didn't even mind getting pooped on (on both knees). The handler got me paper towels to wipe it off. Then we went into the parakeet cage with my 6 year old. The parakeets were not nearly as polite as the bigger birds. Once we each had a cup of seed, they were all over us, buzzing right in front of our faces and climbing all over our arms and occasionally my head. The 6 year old couldn't take it and dropped her food immediately. I got another cup from the handler and had two hands full of birds. The 6 year old was scared but managed to stay for a while. The birds weren't bothering her, she didn't have any food for them. They would fight each other for sole possession of the cup of food. One white guy was fearless in protecting his cup. The 15 year old and I loved the feeling of having these birds all over us. At one point, a spectator called a "real birdman" when I had birds all over me. That experience was really fun. The little ones had snacks and small toys for a nice gift shop. Although the hand washing stations were often out of paper towels, the floor was wet in some areas, and the place was far from perfect. It was also really fun. The staff were very young, but exceptionally nice. Although the outing was a bit on the expensive side, it was well worth it and I'd highly recommend this for anyone, any age. read more

Austin Aquarium - A little ones first experience with a bird. - Aquariums Near Me - Austin, Texas

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We had never been to this place before but a family member had their birthday there, so we went. My son was bitten by their kinkajou during an encounter. The bite broke the skin, and when I asked for vaccination records on their animals, they don't have them. They directed me to their vet who recommended we go through rabies vaccinations. The girl who works there, the only person I spoke to there, said they take no responsibility because there is supposedly a sign posted somewhere near the entrance that if you come in, you accept the risk of whatever may happen to you, apparently being attacked falls under that. We had to go through emergency room visits to get rabies vaccines for 3 weeks. I asked for the owners to contact me. They never did. I asked if they would cover our medical costs. They would not. Their animals are not properly vaccinated. This is a danger to the people and the animals. Their animals show signs of distress. If we hadn't had insurance, this would have been catastrophic. We are still dealing with the costs. Each vial of rabies vaccine is $900 and there were 3 shots and that doesn't include administering the vaccine and office visits. In the process of learning about what to do, I contacted another man whose daughter was bitten by a lemur there and had the same experience. I've had to talk to Animal Control, state officials, Disease Control, the Better Business Bureau, insurance etc. It's been awful from beginning to end. I CAN NOT believe this place is still in business. DO NOT GO. read more

This place was fantastic we had a blast with my 4 year old! Staff was incredibly both times. A fun afternoon feeding the animals and visiting and really just hanging out. Will be back again! read more

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First and last visit here. All of the tanks and water looked cloudy and dirty. People can just stick their hands in the tanks to touch and feed the animals with no supervision. As mentioned in other reviews there is no natural sunlight coming into the building for the animals. A giant tortoise was roaming around and I did not feel comfortable with my 1 1/2 year old son walking around with that going on. Seriously bad experience and I hope this place gets inspected and closed down. read more

Not worth the money as an aquarium. It's more an expensive petting zoo geared towards small children. I should have suspected something when our GPS led us into a strip mall. I went with my son, his wife and my granddaughter. We arrived just as the place opened and it wasn't busy...yet. I know Texas has "opened" and lifted many requirements but in these days of COVID, I expected more staff to be wearing masks but the person at the ticket counter wasn't and neither were a few others I saw. We went into the place and were surprised by how close we could get to the displays and the animals which was nice but without staff to interact with, we didn't realize we could touch some of the animals. Some of the electronic informational devices weren't working so, once again, we were unaware of what we could do or what we were looking at. The exhibit of jellyfish was disturbing once we figured out they were probably dead and were simply being pushed around by the "current". As we got deeper into the aquarium/zoo, more people started arriving and the music was turned on. My granddaughter has sensitive ears and complained about it being loud and put her hands over her ears. As we progressed further in and the number of visitors increased, the ability to safely distance yourself was eliminated. Once a school group arrived, the lack of supervision by school staff or regulation by employees, we felt the need to leave. We did see several people taking advantage of the animal encounter experience. They did look to be enjoying their time but I'm not sure it's worth the expense. (My granddaughter is also too young to participate as they are age limited.) We got a few souvenirs and left after spending about an hour inside. Save your money and go elsewhere. This place is more zoo than aquarium. (I may be biased as most aquariums I'm familiar with have huge tanks and aren't landlocked.) read more

Austin Aquarium - Aquariums Near Me - Austin, Texas

Awful, appalling. First two words that come to mind. The stench right as you walk in the door should be the first clue this place is inhumane. A parrot greeted us at the door shaking with half of its feathers gone. We entered around 2:15 and were gone by 2:30 as I scooted my daughter through. How is this okay? Animals in terribly small enclosures, no daylight, signs that actually say "touch me!" A high school girl was touring and I overheard her say, "these animals look like they hate life". How can anyone enter this establishment and enjoy themselves? It's 2023, we all know better. I'm terribly regretful I spent money here. It's like some sort of side of the road show you would find in the 60's or 70's, back when we thought it was okay to paint with lead based paint, use asbestos and smoking didn't cause cancer. We know better. Whoever owns this, do better. This should be closed. read more

Biggest waste of money! We came on vacation thinking it'd be like a real aquarium... it's not! My 2 year old was not even amused. The animals looked sick or sad. It's way over priced, there were 3 of us and we got 6 tokens and it was $101... it was awful. I'm mad. I want a refund! We went through the whole thing twice and weren't even there an hour. The staff was really nice, it's not they're fault but the visitors and animals deserve better!!! Don't waste your time and money! read more

I visited back during 2021 and the poor animals were stressed. Maybe due to crowds. But it was so unsettling to me.

DO NOT GO HERE! These poor animals are being abused and neglected; with a tight environment, IN a roofed building, it's pretty clear that these animals are stressed and isolated. The string rays are being put in a small container, where they would consistently bumped into each other. And from my observation, not just one -- but AT LEAST three are suffering with "death curls". A death curl is when a string ray's tail has a curl, this is typically means that the sting ray is being severely stressed and malnourished. However, it could also be a symptom that it is about the sting ray's life time is about to pass, but with multiple sting rays suffering from this -- is concerning. I would not like to assume, but with an unfitted environment, these sting rays are clearly overwhelmed. This is just ONE of the many example, there are multiple animals being held in that aquarium, with the same poor treatment and absolutely disgusting environment. They deserved to be freed and cared for by a more fitted and PROFESSIONAL animal's institution. How is this even still open? The business should be shut down. Aside from the horrendous treatment towards the animals, the workers there didn't show any respect either. They charged me with the right amount of money needed to be paid, but as for my friend, they over charged her. Gross ass place. Go somewhere else like a park or something. read more

I am in awe of how cool this place was! It was so fun and amazing and everything was hands on for kids and adults! Came here on a rainy Texas day and was so shocked at how much sea life and wildlife they could fit into this former shopping center in what appeared to be a strip mall. But don't let the façade fool you, this place packs a punch and here's why... When you come in you pay your entry fee and make sure you purchase some tokens for animal food. That part cost a little more but is so worth it and helps support the animals and their care. (Pro tip: check in on Yelp and you get an even better deal.) When you walk through the first thing you come to is a stingray tank. The stingrays are actually really friendly and they love to eat krill, which you can buy in the vending machine nearby. Next, you come to a tank filled with hungry koi, friendly turtles and quite possibly even a few ducks. These guys eat the pellets which cost one token. Definitely don't miss the chance to go in through the bird aviary and feed millet seeds to the cute colorful budgies. They will sit on your hands and feet and head while you feed them. So fun! One of the most unique attractions here is a cage where you can hang with some fluffy lemurs. You need to be 6 years old or older for this event and it costs 4 tokens per person. Thank you Austin Aquarium for being so awesome. The staff here is really great too! We are from California and you guys definitely give Sea World a run for their money, no joke! read more

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They do not have adequate care or space for these animals. It is not appropriate for these animals to be held like this.

Marcus was patient and had the best attitude. He helped me find the best fitting package for my family. We had so much fun feeding the different animals and got to pet everything from sharks to silkies! Thanks Marcus for making sure we knew the best parts of the fun attractions. read more

Austin Aquarium - Great white shark model in front of fun cut outs to take photos with. - Aquariums Near Me - Austin, Texas

For the amount of money they charge for entrance fees and then on top of it having to buy dam tokens for the attractions is beyond me and for them not to have enough employees to run each attraction it's ridiculous, you would think they can staff accordingly to their business.. so over this place not worth the time or the money.. read more

Expected it to be larger the exhibits were so small for these animals it made me sad. Kids banging on the glass with parents not telling them to respect the animals. Expensive coins to feed the overly fed animals. Only to be told most times we cannot not no staff is free to help us. Then why sell us coins! And this aquarium had a few animals I would not expect at an aquarium like monkeys? read more

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I've been living in Austin for about a year now and I was almost as anxious as my daughter was to see the aquarium. I ended up purchasing the tickets off of Groupon for a great price I might add. Upon on arrival you would think it would be small in size because of location but it was actually surprisingly large for its space. The entire faculty was pretty clean, no smells out of the ordinary as you expect the watery smell. After entering we purchase gold tokens so my daughter could feed the animals. She enjoyed observing and feeding the fish, they're pretty friendly. We also were able to feed some exotic birds and actually hold one. The staff is amazing as everyone is very friendly and also patient with the children and parents. The food wasn't too good and it was overpriced as well which would be my only negative remark. But seeing all the fish and other animals made my daughters day. read more

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Please don't go here! 1. The animals were in very small cages that didn't look well maintained 2. Children were allowed to touch many of the animals and hand washing was not enforced 3. The place had a distinct fishy smell even before you entered the building 4. The obstacle course was disgusting - very sticky and with blocks that were falling apart 5. It was extremely expensive and it's clear that the money isn't going into maintaining the building or caring for the animals. This was a very sad experience for us and we won't be returning. read more

An aquarium in the middle of a strip mall. Very small enclosures for the animals and they have no sunlight at all. Its not clean at all. I love zoos and aquariums but this was just sad. read more

I tried to look at descriptions online that spoke of crocodiles, bunnies, and great experiences. There weren't half of the animals they claimed to have online and the inside had tons of flies and a lot of koi fish in a medium size tank. The animals had no sunlight as the aquarium is in a shopping center. I can see how this would be a fun experience for very young children who have short attention spans, but it is borderline animal cruelty letting the small children get so close to the animals who are packed in so tightly. Very disappointing, I was so sad to have spent money supporting it. read more

Austin Aquarium - Koi "pond" area - Aquariums Near Me - Austin, Texas

The aquarium was such an amazing experience. You are able to encounter so many different animals and is such an amazing time! The staff is all very friendly and knowledgeable. Sky was super informative and extremely nice. If you have a chance to go to this aquarium I would highly recommend. read more

Austin Aquarium - Aquariums Near Me - Austin, Texas

Really enjoyed the ability to get so close to the animals and experience the care given to all the creatures there well done!

Yoooooooo! This little gem was perfect for my youngest!! She's 6 (7 in November) I wanted to do a mommy/daughter day and found this on Groupon. We had a blast! She's been begging to return ever since. read more

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TLDR; overpriced ($14 entry +$30-40 optional -- but recommended -- tokens per person for animal interactions), lack of effective signage, crammed spaces and overcrowding (for people and for the animals!). We had a poor experience with an incredibly rude employee, and a decent experience with the porcupine and stingray interactions. Animal care: I am by no means an expert in animal care, but I did feel that many exhibits were small and overcrowded. Many of the bird cages contained 15-20+ birds from vastly different regions. The koi pond was disturbingly over stuffed with koi, snapping turtles, and ducks. No hand washing was enforced before putting hands inside of tanks. One person that was with my group witnessed a kid pick up two different snapping turtle, wave it around outsides it's tank and faced no repercussions (not even a word!) from their camp counselor. Overcrowding: This place seriously needs to limit the number of people at a given time. Maybe mandatory reservations or even a first come policy would drastically improve the experience. When we came today there were so many kid's-camp groups that it was hard to even walk through the exhibits. Additionally the over crowding seemed to put serious strain on the employees (more on this later!) and their capacity to answer questions, host interactions, etc. Pricing: At the entrance it recommends 8-12 tokens per person (although the employee at the front actually explicitly recommended 5 per person instead). These tokens can be used to purchase food to feed the animals (stingrays, birds, etc), animal interactions (petting + 1 on 1 with a animal guide), and food at the cafeteria. For our group of 3 adults and 1 infant, we decided to buy 15 tokens equating to around $50! Our experience: We definitely did not need 15 as it was rather difficult for us to use them on animal interactions as employees or the animals were not ready at a given time (there were understandable rules regarding when an animal is 'ready' to be pet, etc). We did however get to spend some tokens on the porcupine which was a cool experience! We got to hand feed, pet, and hear some interesting facts about it. We also spend some tokens on food for the stingrays which was also fun. Once we were ready to leave we still had around 8 tokens left. We decided to spend the rest at the cafeteria. Presumingly from the overcrowding they were out of most things in the menu. There was only one employee behind the counter who was obviously overwhelmed and got frustrated at everything we said. Over much compromising over the scraps left on the menu, and what we could purchase with tokens the employee continued to mock and scoff at us. We were waiting for our order of nachos (for about 15 minuets) when they finally got someone else to help out. When we asked about our order the new employee apologized saying that they were actually out of chips. Meaning that the first employee knew this and had said nothing for 15 minutes. Concluding thoughts: Overall do not recommend this aquarium, it is small, overcrowded, overpriced, and I am concerned about the potential of an accident with a child and animal (due to the inability to supervise properly with their sheer number of people at a given time, the lack of proper warnings/signage, etc), as well as the overall treatment of said animals. read more

During my Austin visit, I came upon this aquarium that was interesting to see that visitors have the opportunity to interact with the animals (some for free while others for an add-on fee). I also saw in some exhibits there were booths where visitors can get temporary tattoos, or caricature drawing for a fee. Since I went during the weekday, these booths were closed and there were some empty exhibits (not sure if the animals were resting somewhere that cannot be seen). They also have free admission for first responder (just need to show them your work ID) and foster children. Overall I think if the exhibits are filled with animals and the booths are open then it would be a fun place to visit. read more

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The Austin Aquarium is a fun place to take you family and there is a lot more inside than it appears. Cute animals to interact with. The highlight for us was Merlyssa, the mermaid. She was awesome! She was believable and so friendly. It wasnt like she just put on a costume or acted like she was tired or bored. She sang, took pics, interacted, all while being patient and kind. We will definitely be back to see her as she made our family smile! Call ahead and ask for her if your littles (or grown ones) like mermaids. read more

It was a fun experience for my 1 year old. Lovely animals, especially had a fun experience in the bird enclosures.. However the place is a bit pricey(Spent $107 for just my mother and i and thats not even including my child) Tokens are used to feed animals but theres barley any food for the animals in stock.. Quite hazardous and not so spacious, lots of unsupervised children running around which makes it IMPOSSIBLE to get by (Mind you most of the flooring is wet too) Place is really small, and too packed. read more

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For me that's one hell of a depressing place: outdated, dark, clearly has seen better days. Frankly, it's the first time in years I've visited (and regret that fact deeply) a place that looks that sad. Fish tanks are small and dull, some of them were empty (bite there are not so many to start with), the fish looked not happy at all. Well, I admit that I can't but compare this place to the ones in SoCal, where the education efforts are present, talking about conservation of species and just the importance of ecosystems, local species, how to help, etc all over the facility. It doesn't feel like it's important at all here. Not coming here again,not recommending to anyone. Even Petco looks more promising than Austin Aquarium to me. read more

Very very cool experience , I took my son while visiting the area and he got to feed exotic birds, salt water fish, porcupines, and all sorts of animals. He really really loved it! I enjoyed it and so did my girlfriend. Glad we went to experience this aquarium. read more

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This place is CRUEL. I was almost in tears when we left because of the treatment of these animals and fish. There was a poor bird right at the entry who had lost all of his feathers from stress. It was very sad. All enclosures were very very small and didn't have enough for the animals to play with or do. The tanks were all way too small for the amount of sea life and did not contain hiding spots or entertainment for the sea life living in them. The amount of touch tanks and animal enclosure that people can interact with was totally shocking. They didn't force people to wash hands before or after interacting with animals or sea life. The entire place looked like a criminal bought animals off of the black market and decided to take a closed down grocery store and turn it into an aquarium. If you want to see a real aquarium go to Dallas World Aquarium. This place was a dirty, sad , waste of money and my family and I will never return. read more

Hands down the best aquarium/zoo that I've been to. What looks like a pet shop from the outside is actually a great experience. Some of the animals wander around in the crowd like the iguanas, ducks, tortoises, and parrots. My friend and I paid extra for tokens that allowed us into the lemur's habit for a live experience where they were jumping on top of us and we can pet them in their enclosure. It was so worth it!!! read more

Austin Aquarium - My best friend and I in the lemur enclosure. - Aquariums Near Me - Austin, Texas

Yes, it is small. You can spend a lot of time and money or you can walk through for very little money. We had a lot of fun. The animals seemed very happy and the staff really cared about the animals. Enjoy the animals and you w I'll have a good time. read more

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I mostly liked the prices here. We went in for Mothers Day and all mothers received free entry that day. And my group got a second discount because the rest of us were students and the student price is discounted as well. So that part alone was nice. I personally do not like the token method at these types of places. They should really just say "wanna pet a lemur? Pay this for the lemur experience". Not lemur experience is x amount of tokens and have you back track the cost. Be upfront. I also believe feeding the creatures should be included in the entry price. If you're not feeding an animal there isn't much else to do there but walk around and look. Making the entry fee a total waste. It's a pretty small and dark building. And believe me tokens are necessary. Animals will only come to you if you have food! You buy tokens and put them into a vending machine to get the feed. Each vending machine is unique to the creature it's nearest to. Some fish eat seaweed so you'll find seaweed next to it while birds need pellets etc. I feel each ticket should include maybe 3-5 tokens? Or something like that to make the trip worth it. Because believe me it's not without buying food. The birds in the cage will not come near you without food. Watching the koi fish race for food was cool too. Even experiencing some fish come up for seaweed was really nice. But all of these required tokens that we purchased on top of our tickets. One token got stuck in the machine and luckily a worker kindly gave us one so the staff is helpful. If not for the discounts we got we probably wouldn't have gotten tokens at all. Especially because we were a big group. It was cool when they brought out this huge turtle with a balloon around him. They just let him roam around for you to pet and take pictures. I think he got fed up though because he walked himself right up to a staff door and everyone joked that he was "clocking out for the day". I've been to one of these interactive parks in Houston and though this location is better it's not that great. Honestly could have lived without going to either location. 3 stars for great discounts and great customer service. But other than that the experience fell flat. And would have rated lower. There isn't much to see here. We were expecting something similar to Houston's Downtown Aquarium but it was nowhere close to that. read more

Austin Aquarium - Aquariums Near Me - Austin, Texas

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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

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

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

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 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

We had family in town and my nephew loves animals. It was also Memorial Day so my husband and I got in for free. We had never been here so we were taking a chance plus it was also suppose to be a rainy day. Upon arrival we thought we were in the wrong location since it was located in a strip mall. Everyone expected the worse because of this luckily we were pleasantly surprised. Once inside my nephew was in heaven. Both my niece and nephew got coins so they could purchase various types of food to feed the animals. Most of the big tanks allowed people to touch and or feed the animals to include: giant tortoises, birds, fish, sharks, sting rays, etc. There was a stronger fishy smell to the air in certain parts of the building. There is also washing stations throughout which was helpful. read more

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