seattle aquarium

Wow, I've gone here several times as a kid. Ever since the 3rd grade! It's an awesome place for kids. There are lots of hands-on activities and the animals are great! They also have a theater which is a plus. Admission is not expensive at all. It's located on the waterfront and is very easy to find. They have sharks, sea otter, octopus, and sea stars. Just great for kids in general, great for adults too. The staff is great, and it's pretty to navigate the aquarium. Check it out and write a review once you're done!

PROS: Great Location
CONS: Nothing!

Posted 12/21/05 | Report Abuse

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Not the biggest or best aquarium but a quality one. Focusing primarily on local aquatic life. Fair amount of exhibits good educational information provided. Learning "workshops" for the kids.

PROS: Very educational, med-large size aquarium
CONS: High price

Posted 11/30/05 | Report Abuse

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There are so many wild things in the water! If you compare the weird things you find in the zoo to things in the sea, you will see what i am talking about. I remember back when I was in Highschool, we had a school dance held in the seattle aquarium over the otters and it was quite the magical night i must say.

Posted 11/27/05 | Report Abuse

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The aquarium is a great place to go to see the sealife! They have a ton of fish, as well as the ever loved sea otters! They have an interactive area where the kids can touch sea stars and such...they love that! The only drawback is finding a place to park that is for free.

Posted 11/26/05 | Report Abuse

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I went to the aquarium yesterday and I must say that I was quite impressed with the exhibits and staff. There are tons of exhibits and hands on type things. A huge underwater aquarium, and tons of fish tanks and information about our native animals. This place was totally worth the money and I will be sure to come back!

Posted 11/26/05 | Report Abuse

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We enjoy going to the Seattle Aquarium a lot. They have great hands on exhibits that my kids love to explore, with starfish, sea anenomes and other harmless creatures. It's a great learning experience for them. The kids also love all the close up displays and aquariums, especially the jellyfish ring that you can walk through. They are able to get up close with so many different sea creatures, and lets them see how different they are in person than on television or in a book.

PROS: Great hands on exhibits
CONS: Parking

Posted 11/20/05 | Report Abuse

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The Seattle Aquarium is such a wonderfully fun and educational place to go with the family. They have so many wonderful exhibits to see. My favorite is the underwater dome where you go through these tunnels into a room that's under water and every where you look you are surrounded by all these different sea creatures. It's just amazing.

Posted 11/20/05 | Report Abuse

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The Seattle aquarium, situated on a pier on Elliott Bay, is a wonderful place to take the family. There are many varieties of fish, lots of open space between exhibits for kids to roam, a touchable exhibit, and even some outdoor spaces.

Parking can be a little bit of a challenge, but there's always the excellent bus/trolley system if you feel so inclined.

It's expensive if you purchase tickets a la carte, but if you buy the city pass, which includes admission to the Zoo, the Space Needle, the Aquarium, and probably some other places I'm forgetting, it's actually very reasonable.

Posted 11/19/05 | Report Abuse

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The Seattle Aquarium is a great place to see a large array of undersea creatures. It is by the waterfront and in a beautiful locality. The staff are friendly and very informative. A great place definately. It makes you appreciate nature more. What a great place to take any kid interested in nature. I recommend it to any schools or any parents.

PROS: place exhibits
CONS:

Posted 11/18/05 | Report Abuse

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My wife took my brother and I here on a visit to Seattle and we loved it. It's one of the main tourist attractions and we could easily see why. It was crowded and that made it hard to see everything but we did our best and were fascinated by the amount of fish of every kind to be found there. We loved the salmon swimming up stream exhibit and touching some fish. Don't care for the fishy smell but other than that - it was a fun place to experience. We did expect it to be a bigger aquarium though!

Posted 11/18/05 | Report Abuse

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its ok if youve never been else where. definetly overpriced, ive gone through the whole thing in under 1.5 hours. not that big either. plenty of parking across the street. no signature exhibits, not even much of local animals. gift shop well stocked and reasonably priced

Posted 11/11/05 | Report Abuse

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We spent close to an entire day wondering around this place. It doesn't seem very big, but they do have quite a few exibits. The coolest one is a big octopus in a round vertical tank. I took a picture of it with my wife close to the window, and it looked like the octopus was trying to get her.

Besides that, they have some open tanks where you can touch star fish and some other sea creatures, which is always fun for kids. They have, of course, tons of tanks with various exotic fish. They have a whole room of sea horses (where you cannot take picture - I was yelled at for that one). They have a few sea mammals - mostly otters and seals in larger pools/cages outside of the main building. They also have a number of neat looking sea birds.

The admission wasn't too bad, and during the off season you can get a buy one - get one free coupons. I think it was around $10-12 per person.

They are in the same building as the IMAX Dome theater, which is neat as well. Beside that, they are right on the Seattle waterfront.

PROS: Lots of fish, sea horses, sea mammals, and sea birds to see
CONS: Mainly the same as most aquariums in other cities

Posted 11/11/05 | Report Abuse

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The Seattle Aquarium is a fun place to while away a few hours on a rainy day. My kids love looking in the tanks at exotic creatures like electric eels, brightly colored jelly fish, octopus, and puffer fish. They have a discovery tank where kids can touch the types of creatures you'd find in a tide pool, starfish, anenomies, urchins. They have a great underwater viewing area where you can see the types of animals found in the puget sound but in much greater concentrations! There is also underwater viewing of the seals. My kids love to come to feeding time. Parking can be difficult. There is no parking lot. You can park in metered parking across the street under the Alaska Way Viaduct or you may get lucky and get on street metered parking. Walking down the street for fish and chips at Ivar's is a great way to end the day!

Posted 11/10/05 | Report Abuse

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What more appropriate city than Seattle, which is themed on its waterways and is surrounded by various bodies of water on three sides, for an aquarium. It features exhibits not only on the usual Northwest suspects such as reefs, marine mammals, salmon, various Puget Sound fish, and the like, but also mountains, birds, and even Antarctica. Situated on the waterfront.

Posted 11/10/05 | Report Abuse

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I went during the week and used my CityPass to get in. Since I went right at openning, the crowd was pretty small. I was impressed that we were able to touch certain animals like starfish, sea cucumbers, different anemones. The aquarium has an impressive salmon ladder, which I found to be very interesting. I enjoyed how the aquarium utilized both inside and outside for exhibits. It was neat being on the dock of the Puget Sound watching the seals inside the aquarium.

Posted 11/08/05 | Report Abuse

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There are so many animals that you really get to see up-close-and-personal. The octupus in the glass enclosure actually moved while we were visiting. We got pictures that look like it's getting ready to crawl right on me. Be ready to spend plenty of time at the Sea Horse exhibit. There's so many different beautiful kinds. They actually do a shark research out of this aquarium. Be ready to see some great sea animals and to learn things you may never have known before.

PROS: The glass exhibit afford you an extremely close look at different sea life.
CONS: Parking is really difficult to find, be prepared.

Posted 11/07/05 | Report Abuse

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I enjoy going to the aquarium. However, it doesn't seem like it's changed much over the years. They have some interesting exhibits but when you compare it to the Monterey Bay Aquarium or the Baltimore Aquarium - well, there is no comparison. They would do well to really upgrade and remodel the place. Still, the kids like it.

Posted 11/04/05 | Report Abuse

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I love the Seattle Aquarium. It gives me a perfect excuse to go to the waterfront (or perhaps the waterfront gives me a perfect excuse to go to the Aquarium....)

Large, full exihibits. Fun for the whole family. Love the family of beavers and love even more the large red Pacific Octopus that glares at you with its eye that is larger than its brain.

Also have touch-tanks for kids AND adults AND the touch-tank security guards actually allow adults (even those without kids) to manhandle the sea-life, which is nice, because alot of aquariums have NO ADULT TOUCHING rules which (personally) I think suck.

Highly reccomended. Always a crowd. Kind of expensive to get in, but they have discounts if you buy Aquarium & IMAX tickets at the same time.

Posted 10/22/05 | Report Abuse

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The Seattle Aquarium is a recognized aquatic educational center especially for kids. Located in the Pier of Seattle, its right next to the water along with other shops and restaurants.

Posted 10/14/05 | Report Abuse

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The tunnel underwater is the most impressive thing here. The Oregon Coast Aquarium has something similar, but both are worth seeing. They feed the seals and otters, etc. regularly throughout the day--be sure to check the schedule first thing so you don't miss one. They have a petting tank of sea anenomes for the little ones, and dark tanks full of deep-sea glowing fish. Really worth a visit if you've forgotton it.

Posted 09/23/05 | Report Abuse

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I visited the Seattle Aquarium once years ago and wasn't very impressed. When I went back recently I was much more impressed. If I lived closer I would get a yearly pass, because it is an enjoyable (mostly indoors) place to visit with kids. They offer some summer family programs that sounded very interesting, as well as the regular exhibits. The sea horses are especially beautiful, and there was a mother sea otter with her new baby when we visited. The price is very reasonable.

Posted 09/15/05 | Report Abuse

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If you are looking for something fun and educational to do with the kids, then this is the spot for you! They have an abundance of fish and marine animals for you to get up close and personal with and have a lot of fun doing. It's really neat to be able to observe all the critters in such a nice setting. They remodeled a while back and did a really good job. The only drawback would be the prices, they are a bit on the high side, however I'll still come back again, well worth it!

PROS: a really great place
CONS: prices are high

Posted 09/07/05 | Report Abuse

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The Seattle Aquarium is more than it looks like it might be from the outside. They have a large variety of marine life and it's very interactive. Not only can you see a lot but you can even touch some of the displays. Leave a couple of hours available because you need to be able to take your time wandering through. You can also get a close look at the sea lions, which is the true highlight. Kids love it and adults will enjoy it too.

Posted 08/26/05 | Report Abuse

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The Seattle Aquarium is a fun place to spend a few hours. They have a wide variety of local species, as well as a few not local species. In addition to fish, they have some absolutely adorable sea otters, which you can watch from above water, and you can see them in the water while downstairs thru viewing windows. Another neat thing is their learning area where employees have special areas set up to learn about some of the creatures. Even better, they have a petting tank where kids (and adults) can learn about the feel of some of the creatures. In addition to being a fun place to visit, it is also educational! The only setback is that it is fairly costly - $12 for adults (ages 13 and up), and $5 - $8 for kids (ages 3-12). There is the city pass option, especially nice for tourists. City pass is a ticket to get into the Seattle Aquarium, Argosy Harbor Cruises, the Space Needle, Pacific Science Center, Woodland Park Zoo and the Museum of Flight. You have nine days to use it and the cost is much more reasonable for all you get to do - Adults are $42.00 and Youth ages 413 are $25.00!

At any rate, you have to check out the aquarium at least once!

PROS: Fun fun fun! Educational too!
CONS: A little costly

Posted 08/24/05 | Report Abuse

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This is such a fun place to take your family or yourself. They have wonderful exhibits. Some of them, especially the tropical fish are amazing! They are incredibly colorful and I stood there in sheer awe at how beautiful they were! Definitely a great place to visit and return to. They also have activities for children that are creative and interactive. Lots and lots of fun!

Posted 08/11/05 | Report Abuse

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What a fabulous aquarium!!! Located in one of the world's coolest cities, the Seattle Aquarium is one of the neatest aquarium's I've encountered!! Much larger than some, it is filled to the brim with indigenous marine life from Puget Sound. There is also a great opportunity to learn here, as there are many knowledgeable staff and easy to read informational placards. A definite must see when you come to this great city!!! Family friendly, great for all ages!!

Posted 08/08/05 | Report Abuse

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We were a little dissapointed in this aquarium. Not very impressed with the displays or presentation. We did however enjoy the otters and sea lions but the rest leaves much to be desired. We will not going back but if you got passes in a package deal than go for it. Otherwise I don't think its worth it. And of course parking was a pain .

Posted 07/27/05 | Report Abuse

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My kids love the Seattle Aquarium. There are lots of hands-on exhibits, and the jellyfish that swim in a giant circular tank (that you can walk through, no less) are really breathtaking. In addition to fish, they also have a lot of birds and aquatic mammals (seals, sea lions, otters) in an outdoor area right next to the aquarium. It is centrally located right on the waterfront, with lots of good restaurants within walking distance. It's also right across the street from the Pike Place Market, which is a must-see!

Posted 07/26/05 | Report Abuse

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Very nice location, but the building is old and obviously too small. It can become very easily crowded. Very interesting feature- the "salmon upstream jorney". On the upper level it is very often too smelly - almost too smelly to enjoy the visit in that area.

PROS: nice location, interesting
CONS: small, old building; smelly in some areas

Posted 07/24/05 | Report Abuse

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We went to the Seattle Aquarium and were a little disapointed. The tickets are a little expensive. Parking is free on Sundays.
We expected a lot more variety of fish and sea animals and didn't spend much time there, maybe 40 minutes at the most. I don't think we will go back there anytime soon.

Posted 07/22/05 | Report Abuse

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we love this aquarium! Right on the pier in downtown seattle sits this beautiful aquarium. The parking is somewhat difficult, but once you get in, you will be glad you came!

Posted 07/15/05 | Report Abuse

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We took our two kids, ages 3 and 1. They enjoyed every minute we were here. The staff is friendly, helpful, quick to talk to the kids (my oldest is very inquisitive, and can get very annoying with all his questions) - they took it in stride, and truely seemed to enjoy their work. Which is a VERY big plus! The down side, the cost of admission for a family can be kind of pricey - but if you keep your reciept, your next entrance can be added to it, to purchase a year pass.

PROS: Awesome exibits, very knowledgable staff.
CONS: Kind of expensive to get in (see Review)

Posted 07/12/05 | Report Abuse

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This is a great spot to come with kids and/or visitors. The first exhibit is a pair of large functioning tidepools that are interactive. (please follow the one finger rule!) The walk-through ring of jellyfish is a favorite. My 3 yo loves the seahorse room, particularily the sea dragons. There are the usual fancy fish, a large water dome, otters, seals, diving birds and some interactive play exhibits. A great destination.

PROS: Great for a rainy day
CONS: can get crowded when groups come through

Posted 07/12/05 | Report Abuse

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My partner and I visited the Seattle Aquarium recently, taking advantage of a 2 for 1 pass. This was my first visit to the aquarium, which I had previously thought of as a tourist trap-venue. I was wrong! What a fascinating look at various aspects of northwest marine life! Highlights included an exhibit where visitors were invited to touch the sea anemones and starfish (gently, of course), feeding time of the otters and seals, and a beautiful seahorse exhibit. Highly recommended!

Posted 06/21/05 | Report Abuse

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Have you ever wanted to touch a starfish? Ever look close at a sea anemone? Then come here! The Seattle Aquarium is a great - albeit a little pricey - to take the kids on a rainy afternoon. There are plenty of things to not only see but touch, too! Before visiting, check them out on the web as they post their feeding schedules - always a favorite thing to see with my little ones.

Posted 06/11/05 | Report Abuse

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I have been going there since I was a little kid and I still love it. They have lots of fish to look at and it is really fun when you are a kid. The people who work there are really nice and great with explaining things to you. The food is really expensive there like most places like this.

Posted 05/15/05 | Report Abuse

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The Seattle aquarium is a very nice place to go if you are spending some time out on the town. All of the creatures are so much fun to watch. I believe the price is a little high though. It's pretty small for the price. The price especially adds up when you have a whole family and don't end up spending much time there. But it's fun while it lasts.

Posted 04/19/05 | Report Abuse

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i enjoy the seattle aquarium so much that i give it a visit at least once a month. the sea otters are so gleeful and cheerful. i can watch these sea otters for days if it were possible. the seals, are just so obese and look like slabs of fat that it makes me amused and enjoy just simply glimpsing at them. ooo. and there are tons of different fish. and conveniently, there are little excerpts on the walls or in booklets at the aquarium for so that one can see which fish is which. the excerpts are also available for all the other sea creatures at the aquarium. what is really interesting though, are the octupus. the seattle aquarium actually provides an action show of "the feeding of the octupus". i must say, that it looked really awesome. in addition, the aquarium has available, little tanks of sea creatures that the public can touch. a great thing for the kids, i must say. ooo. plus, there are also imax films at the seattle aquarium. henceforth, overall, the seattle aquarium provides so much for the public, that it is a MUST to visit.

Posted 04/18/05 | Report Abuse

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If you are in Seattle you have to stop at the Aquarium.. They have alot of fun fish and sea creatures to look at.. they also have some larger attractions like seals.. great place for kids.. and adults alike!

Posted 04/14/05 | Report Abuse

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We go to the aquarium several times a year. It's great for families. The fish are beautiful of course, and there are a wide variety of species. But the fish aren't really the best part.
The octopi are really amazing. Make sure you find out what time they are being fed for a great show.
In the main building are also several open tanks built to resemble tide pools. These are my sons favourite since you are not only allowed, but actually encouraged to gently touch the various species found there, such as sea cucumbers and star fish. We have spent HOURS doing just this.
Also make sure you check out the sea otters as well as the river otters.
There really is a lot to do here, and special events hosted every so often with additional fun activities for the kids. They also change some of the exhibits periodically, so there is somthing a little different every time.

Posted 04/11/05 | Report Abuse

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Great place to spend a rain soaked Northwest afternoon. The Seattle Aquarium has some great stuff to see and touch. I like this place because they care about our environment and they make an effort to teach people about the bounty of the sound. Sea otters, Jelly fish and all kinds of other crazy sea creatures just waiting for your enjoyment. I really enjoy putting the "petting zoo" (Of sorts) it is great if you are on a date.

Posted 04/06/05 | Report Abuse

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For those of you who still haven't had a chance to visit the seattle aquarium, i highly recommend visiting it soon. They recently remodeled it a few years back and added some really nice exibits. Great for all ages, can spend all day there looking and learning. Get face-to-fin with marine life.

Posted 03/18/05 | Report Abuse

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My first reaction upon entering the Seattle Aquarium was disappointment. I found it to be extremely small, with not very many interesting fish at all. However, when I entered one of the main rooms ( I think it IS the main room; this place is tiny!) I found that they had a seahorse exhibit! This was actually very cool to see, as I'd never seen these creatures before.

A big chunk of their space is outdoors, which when I visited was focused on Northwest fish life, particularly Salmon. This was interesting, although many of the exhibits were empty at the time. I remember it was also super cold out and uncomfortable. It seemed odd to me that I would have to pay to spend most of my time at the aquarium outside being cold. I would definately check it out though, it seems like a good actiivity for children of all ages, but it might be a little disappointing, and definatley make sure you go on a nice day.

PROS: Small space, which lended to crowds of people when I visited. Go early on a weekend day to avoid swarms of people. Not many cool fish, outdoor exhibit is tolerable only in good weather.
CONS: Interesting main exhibit when I visited, and interesting and informative Northwest focused exhibit.

Posted 03/18/05 | Report Abuse

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I mean being on the Pacific Rim you'd expect to see more, have more variations. Then again that's me.
All in all, this was entertaining. The seahorse section was very cool. You also get to touch the starfish. It was really popular with the children. I wish there were more larger fish and mammals. Then again, I'm not big on animal captivity.
This would be a great place to visit along with another attraction to balance out what is lacking at the aquarium.

PROS: Interesting/different sections to see.
CONS: More stuff to see!!

Posted 03/16/05 | Report Abuse

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Don't take my headline as an insult to this Aquarium, it is a fun place (I chaperoned a first grade class there this year), just a smaller scale versus something else you might have seen. Great for kids and adults alike, there is a lot to see, to touch (fun!), and to learn.

Has an IMAX theater attached to it, and of course, A GIFT SHOP!

Conveniently located on the waterfront in downtown, this fits well into a tourist day in Seattle, or a rainy day activity with the kids.

Posted 03/15/05 | Report Abuse

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I checked out the Seattle Aquarium on my city pass, a good deal if you want to check out the space needle, the zoo, and like 4 other places. Seattle Aquarium is easy to navigate, and a good way to get some exercise while learning at the same time. There's a touch-and-feel pond with starfish, and sea anenomes. Last time I was there, the sea lions were playful and funny. I found it ironic a little while later, as I ate my smoked salmon at a nearby restaurant. Check out the aquarium.

Posted 03/04/05 | Report Abuse

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