FAMILIES VOTE MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM AS #1 AQUARIUM IN
U.S. AND #3 TOP RATED OVERALL FAMILY ATTRACTION. In California, Monterey Bay
Aquarium consistently ranks in the Top
10 list of amusement and theme park attractions for attendance.
Aquariums & Zoos
America’s families say the Monterey Bay Aquarium is the best aquarium in the
United States and the third top rated overall family attraction in the
country, according to the first-ever Zagat Survey U.S. Family Travel Guide.
See other California Family
Vacation ideas.
“One would have to be a very cold fish not to love the best aquarium in our
Survey. Beautifully set on California’s rocky, gorgeous coast within 30
miles of Big Sur and Carmel (and near historic locale Cannery Row), it’s a
favorite for a fantastic family outing thanks to stunning exhibits ranging
from touch pools for toddlers to big shark tanks. With so much to enjoy,
your biggest challenge may be getting the children away from the sea otters
to see the rest of the fabulous displays. Just outside, you can watch sea
lions, whales and other ocean dwellers in their natural habitat.”
Among U.S. aquariums, the Monterey Bay Aquarium ranked ahead of the National
Aquarium in Baltimore, the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans,
the Newport Aquarium in Cincinnati, the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago
and SeaWorld in Orlando.
Among the overall 10 top-rated attractions, the aquarium rated just behind
the Magic Kingdom (Walt Disney World Resort) and SeaWorld’s Discovery Cove,
both in Florida, and ahead of the St. Louis Zoo, Disneyland, Cedar Point
amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, Grant’s Farm in St. Louis, the San Diego
Zoo, the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. and Disney’s
Typhoon Lagoon, also in Florida.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2005. The
award-winning aquarium offers families an enriching, educational and
entertaining visitor experience in its nearly 200 galleries and exhibits
devoted to the diverse habitats of Monterey Bay. The aquarium is home to
more than 35,000 animals and plants representing 650 species of fishes,
invertebrates, mammals, reptiles, birds and plants found in Monterey Bay and
other regions of the world. It also offers touch pools, auditorium programs,
feeding shows, and the Splash Zone family gallery.
About Monterey Bay Aquarium: One of Monterey's early canneries, Hovden, is home to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. More than 6,500 live creatures,
a hundred galleries and exhibits recreate the Monterey Bay's many habitats,
from shallow tide pools to the vast open ocean. A million-gallon
indoor depiction of the ocean located in at the Outer Bay Wing, a towering
three-story kelp forest and touch pools highlight this coastal facility.
Always on the cutting edge, look for Splash
Zone to create some huge waves through 2005. Described
as "like a children's museum inside an aquarium," it will provide a colorful
hands-on gallery with special play areas to engage the imaginations of
young visitors, inspiring them to appreciate the ocean. A colony of South
African blackfooted penguins, leafy sea dragons, colorful coral and tropical
sharks are a few of the 50 species featured.
The world's largest jellyfish gallery
includes a one million gallon depiction of the sea. A unique bubble window puts families inside the exhibit
to observe the birds up close while hands-on displays explore penguin communication.
For the under 3-year olds, there is a crawl-on waterbed and soft-foam baby
pond. Nearby, granite rocks with crashing waves create a backdrop for older
children to create their own waves and learn how different animals swim,
hang on rocks and ride the waves.
Based on years of examination and surveys of how children
and families learn from exhibits at the Aquarium, the new Splash
Zone supports the mission to inspire conservation of the oceans.
Open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed December
25. Holidays and summer hours are 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. For parking,
use the 1,000 car parking garage on Cannery Row. From May 24 to September
1, Waterfront Area Visitor Express (WAVE) shuttles link the aquarium with
waterfront attractions, hotels and motels in Monterey and Pacific Grove.
Located on Monterey Bay's historic Cannery Row, the Aquarium
is 110 miles south of San Francisco and 330 miles
north of Los Angeles.
