Located along Long Beach’s Rainbow Harbor, the Aquarium of the Pacific is Southern California’s largest aquarium and a must-do Long Beach activity for all ages. Home to more than 11,000 animal exhibits, the aquarium explores three distinct waters of the Pacific Ocean.
Start in the Southern California/Baja Gallery where you’ll find the 142,000-gallon, three-story high Honda Blue Cavern that features ocean inhabitants found off the coast of Catalina Island. You’ll also want to visit the Seal and Sea Lion Habitat and the Ray Touch Pool. Highlighting habitats in and around the Bering Strait, the Northern Pacific gallery features a collection of graceful jellies, four playful otters in the Sea Otter Exhibit, and the largest species of octopus in the world, the giant Pacific octopus, which can grow more than 20 feet long!
Then head to the warmer waters of the Tropical Pacific Gallery and the largest exhibit in the aquarium—the 350,000-gallon Tropical Reef Habitat, which can be viewed from three locations and holds thousands of colorful fish, coral, sea turtles, and two kinds of sharks. Don’t forget to stop by the seahorse and sea dragon exhibit to see if you can find these camouflaged creatures hidden among the seaweed.
In addition to the three main galleries, the aquarium also features outdoor exhibits, including an interactive Shark Lagoon, the Lorikeet Forest aviary, penguin habitat, and a horseshoe crab touch lab.
If you’re looking to dive in further, the aquarium offers many educational, exclusive, and behind-the-scenes experiences. You can get up close and personal with animals such as stingrays, sea lions, and penguins, or dive right into an exhibit (certification required). If your kids have dreamed of staying overnight next to a gigantic fish tank, you can do that too.
Pacific Visions is a wing designed to help aquarium visitors better understand the challenges the ocean faces and the opportunities it holds. It includes a state-of-the-art interactive theater, a larger exhibit gallery with live animals, and an art gallery.
Pro Tip: The aquarium honors a variety of discounts, for military personnel, college students, AAA members, and more. Plus, they offer bundles so that admission can be combined with other attractions such as the LA Zoo, the Natural History Museum, and others. For a complete list, check out the Aquarium of the Pacific website for information on discounted tickets.
Source: Visit California