From punk-haired penguins to a 90-year-old sea turtle with millions of fans, the New England Aquarium makes a big splash. No wonder it’s one of Boston’s most popular attractions! It was a bit hit with my kids and one of the best things to do with kids in Boston.
When the New England Aquarium opened in 1969, it was one of the world’s first modern aquariums. It’s now one of the top things to do in Boston, Massachusetts, welcoming over 1.3 million visitors each year.
I visited Boston Aquarium with my sons as guests of Meet Boston, and our visit gave us a fascinating glimpse into aquatic life.
Read on to discover what we loved about Boston Aquarium and whether I’d recommend visiting it as part of your Boston itinerary.
How to visit the Boston Aquarium
The New England Aquarium is located on Central Wharf in Boston’s downtown waterfront and overlooks Boston Harbor.
It’s within walking distance of other popular Boston attractions like the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, Boston Children’s Museum, and the Faneuil Hall Marketplace.
Aquarium admission is by timed entry ticket, and aquarium tickets regularly sell out on weekends, holidays, and during peak summer months. Walk-up purchases may be available, but aren’t guaranteed, and advanced reservation is the best way to guarantee entry.
The aquarium is one of the sites included in the Boston CityPASS, which gives you discounted admission on a bundle of top attractions around the city.
Once you have entered the Aquarium, you can spend as long as you like looking around the exhibits.
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What can you do at the Boston Aquarium?
The Boston Aquarium is divided into different habitats, each housing different types of marine life. Here are some of the main attractions you’ll see during your visit.
Penguin Colony
You’ll see the penguin exhibit as soon as you enter the New England Aquarium. It’s one of the Aquarium’s most popular exhibits, and it was a highlight of our visit.
The exhibit is pretty huge, containing around 150,000 gallons of water. Around 50 penguins live there, including African penguins and spiky-haired Rockhopper penguins.
It’s a lot of fun to watch the birds bustling around the colony and swimming in the water.
The trainers and volunteers give talks each morning and afternoon, and there are always educators around if you have any questions to ask. You can also watch twice-daily feeding sessions, which are a lot of fun!
Because penguins are cold-weather fans, the temperatures in the penguin colony are chilly. It’s good to bring some layers to the aquarium if you are visiting in summer, as we were.
Giant Ocean Tank
The 40-foot-wide, four-story Giant Ocean Tank is the main attraction at the New England Aquarium. It contains 200,000 gallons of water, an artificial coral reef, and 1,000 aquatic animals from more than 100 species. It felt a whole lot bigger than they say it is!
There’s a spiralling ramp that winds around the Giant Ocean Tank and plenty of viewing windows let you see the reef from different angles. You may be able to spot cownose rays, sea turtles, barracuda, and colorful tropical fish.
One of the Tank’s biggest stars, Myrtle the green sea turtle, has been living at the Aquarium since 1970. She’s now in her 90s and has entertained millions of visitors over the decades. Myrtle enjoys shell scratches from the staff during their twice-daily feeding dives.
Aquarium educators hang out around the top of the Giant Ocean Tank. They give short educational talks, and you can ask them any questions you have about ocean life, coral reefs, and marine conservation.
When we visited, one of the educators was talking about the turtles that live in the tank. It was fascinating, and my sons really enjoyed learning about the marine animals and their natural habitats.
The Giant Ocean Tank is very cool, so you’ll probably spend a large part of your visit spotting lots of different animals around the tank.
Atlantic Harbor Seals
Two families of Atlantic harbor seals live in the 42,000-gallon Atlantic Harbor Seal exhibit at the Aquarium. You can identify the individual seals by name using the photographs and descriptions around the edge of the exhibit.
This is another popular part of the Aquarium, especially with kids. They’ll enjoy watching the seals swim, play, and sleep, and a daily schedule of training sessions takes place each morning and afternoon.
Some of the seals even paint pictures as part of their enrichment program, and you can purchase paintings in the Aquarium gift shop.
Shark and Ray Touch Tank
The mangrove-themed Shark and Ray Touch Tank has viewing windows where you can watch cownose rays, Atlantic rays, and epaulette sharks gliding through the water.
The tank’s shallow edges let you gently touch the fish as they come near the top, and Aquarium educators are always on hand to answer your questions.
Other Exhibits
Other things to see at the Boston Aquarium include the Blue Planet education center, a floor-to-ceiling Indo-Pacific coral reef tank, and an interactive Amazon Rainforest exhibit.
Simons Theatre
The Simons Theatre is a state-of-the-art cinema with a screen nearly five stories tall. It shows a selection of 2D and 3D films about aquatic life, such as “Shark Kingdom” and “Call of the Dolphin”.
You’ll need to book separate tickets for the Theatre’s daily presentation of films, which each last around 45 minutes.
Animal Encounters
The Aquarium also offers exclusive meet-and-greet sessions that let you join the trainers inside the Atlantic Harbor Seals’ home. You’ll learn more about these fascinating marine mammals, how they live in the wild, and how the Aquarium cares for them.
There’s also an option to join one of the seals’ painting sessions. Afterwards, you’ll receive one of the artworks as a souvenir.
These VIP encounters can be booked for a maximum of four people aged 7+, and under-18s must be accompanied by an adult.
What are the facilities like?
The Aquarium is fully accessible with elevator access to every level. There are also plenty of benches and seats where you can stop and take time to look at the exhibits.
However, everything felt a little bit dated compared to other Boston attractions we’ve visited. The bathrooms in particular were small and didn’t seem very well maintained.
The on-site Harbor View Café serves the sort of food you’d expect to see in this kind of restaurant. Think sandwiches, salads, pizza, and chicken fingers.
Again, it’s nothing special, and I’d recommend eating at one of the excellent restaurants just a short walk from the Aquarium. However, the café would do if you’re short of time and need to eat right away.
There’s also a snack bar at the front of the Aquarium selling drinks and grab-and-go snacks.
On the other hand, the gift shop is surprisingly good for this kind of tourist attraction. There’s an adorable range of stuffies that kids will love, and you can even buy one of the paintings made by the Atlantic Harbour seals.
Is the Boston Aquarium good for kids?
My sons were 11 and 8 when we visited the Boston Aquarium. I think that’s the right age range for this attraction, because there’s enough to keep them entertained for a couple of hours. They loved the Giant Ocean Tank and enjoyed the interactive exhibits too.
Younger kids will definitely enjoy the Aquarium, and there were a lot of smaller kids running around when we visited. However, teens might get bored quickly, although I think they’ll still enjoy some of the exhibits. My older son enjoyed his time but wouldn’t rank this in his top 5 things to do in Boston.
By the way, the Aquarium is a popular destination for both family visits and school field trips. This means that afternoons and weekends tend to be busy and can get pretty chaotic.
So, the best time to visit the Boston Aquarium is early in the morning on weekdays.
Is the Boston Aquarium worth a visit?
The New England Aquarium is definitely worth a short trip, especially if you’re visiting with kids. Our experience wasn’t quite as impressive as I thought it would be, but my sons had fun.
You only need around 90 minutes to see the exhibits, and you could probably get around in 60 minutes if you’re in a rush. That makes the Aquarium an ideal attraction to fill in a gap during your day. You certainly don’t need to put aside a full morning or afternoon to visit the Aquarium.
Overall, I’d recommend visiting the Boston Aquarium, but it wouldn’t be top of my list of kid-friendly Boston attractions. Looking for other great activities in Boston? We loved Puttshack, the Museum of Science, F1 arcade, the tea party museum, and the Museum of Ice Cream.
