New England Aquarium, Boston

The New England Aquarium is nice but I recommend you get there as early as possible to avoid the crowds.

The Aquarium is centered around a central tank that represents a Carribean Reef. Around this tank are exhibits that highlight aquatic regions from around the world. At the base of the tank is a large penguin exhibit. On our visit there was an exhibit on Jellyfish that was outstanding! It was as good, if not better than the Seahorse exhibit at Chattanooga's aquarium.

The Pengiun exhibit is what makes this aquarium unique. There are over 60 pengiuns in the pool. The pool is fed directly from the harbor.

The aquarium is not as large as I expected but it is very good nonetheless and priced right. Our tickets were about $15.00.

Since we are animal lovers, of course the aquarium was on our list of things to do.

We spent a lot of time chasing and watching this huge guy!

There is a HUGE tank in the middle of the aquarium that has a spiral ramp wrapping it from top to bottom...it was incredible

I think it was like $15/person to get in.

The Aquarium is right on the waterfront and is a great way to spend an afternoon. There is an outdoor tank i think and one in a building where i saw a sealion "show". inside the main building, the main fish tank is in a huge tube up the center with a ramp spiraling around it going up several floors. There is a big pool on the ground floor with all the different types of penguins and smaller aquariums lining the walls on each of 3 floors. We'd follow the ramp up and then check out the wall tanks on each floor. The big tank was cool, and there were even some small sharks in it and two giant sea turtles. I felt like I could stand there and watch the fish go by for hours! There were different species at different levels of depth in the tank, each adapting to their own preference. At the top you can look down into it and see the fiberglass coral.

I was fascinated at all the different kinds in one tank and wondered why they didn't eat each other as some of them must have been natural predators of others. Especially the sharks. Ron though that perhaps they were fed so well that they didn't have that ambition. We would often be startled by the size of the fish as they swam close to the viewing windows but again, I suppose they looked bigger than they were as water does affect the magnification somewhat. There was one particularly ugly fellow that looked as though he must have had a few tries at escaping through the glass at the detriment of his poor face, all pushed in. There was a large white flat fish that had pink eyes like an albino rabbit. The tropical species in the wall tanks had some spectacular colours.

Seeing marine life next to Boston's harbour makes sense.

The Aquarium is one of the things I enjoyed most in Boston - especially because of the close views of the many penguins they have.

The Aquariums is not really about Boston at all - but does a great job in presenting extensive, informative displays about virtually anything affecting our marine world. This is done alongside the animals and fish themselves.

I found that we could get closer and better looks at almost everything and also spend as long as we wanted at each tank without getting hassled along. The Aquariums cleverly designed on multiple levels with a giant central tank - so as you spiral upwards past the many tanks - there are some rather large sharks keeping a beady eye on you.

Being indoors - this is great thing to do with kids if it rains - but don't expect to be alone in thinking that. We got there early an benefited from less crowds. It also meant we could see whatever encounter sessions we wanted to.

The penguin talk was fascinating - did you know that these birds choose one mate for life (usually anyway!)...

There are numerous education tools for kids and specially designed tour routes and questionnaires to be completed as they go around.

I could go on or day but in summary it was money well spent and a welcome "natural" break from city-tourism.

What can you expect to see?
______________________
Everything marine:- African penguins, a Thinking Gallery. a whale skeleton, Rivers of the Americas Gallery, Edge of the Sea touch tank, Shorebirds/Northern Waters, Giant Ocean Tank, rockhopper penguins, sea otters, harbour seals, Tropical Gallery, little blue penguins and the ubiquitous shop for souvenirs

How much?
_________
Adult $15.50
Seniors (60+ yrs) $13.50
Child (3-11 yrs) $8.50
They have a membership scheme .
Children under 3 are admitted free of charge.
Discounts are available for large groups.

The aquarium runs deals with the co-located IMAX theatre.

The New England aquarium is one of the largest in the North East. There are three floors of exhibits to explore, a penguin pool, and in the middle of the aquarium, from bottom to the very top of the building, is the Giant Ocean Tank - a 23ft deep, 200,000 gallon artificial reef, lined with windows so you can glance into its very depths. There are over 50 different species of fish and turtles in it, including sharks, barracudas, and many other large fish. It's supposed to be one of the most accurate reef replicas around. If you're lucky you'll see divers in the tank. A dive club associated with the aquarium even holds drawings every month where the winner gets to dive in the tank.

Outside the main building itself, there's a seal pool, an otter pool, and a floating sea-lion presentation auditorium, and an IMAX theater.

New England Aquarium
More than 12,000 fish, birds, reptiles and amphibians are on display. There is a 200,000-gallon circular ocean tank with a replica of a Caribbean coral reef.

They have a Huge fish tank with a spiral staircase going around it, you can see divers going into it and hand feeding turtles, fish, and sharks!
...Also a great indoor penguin pond which takes up nearly the whole first floor.

New England Aquarium - We decided that we like the Shedd Aquarium better but only slightly. This is a very nice aquarium. When we visited, it was full of several groups of very noisy schoolkids which may have influenced our opinions somewhat. It is definitely worth visiting.

The Boston Aquarium is one of the best I have seen. The multiple story tube of glass is a great way to experience a coral reef without getting wet.

Normally I am not at all fond of animals in captivity, but the aquarium is so environmental and research oriented, I make an exception.