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21 reviews for Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
So cute, a small and intimate yet very educational aquarium. Having recently started scuba diving, I really enjoyed learning about the different types of local sea life you see in the kelp beds. It was not crowded, which is good cuz it's so small, and there is just enough information presented on the Courier-font (talk about old-school) placards on display next to each tank that you learn something without being overwhelmed by too much info.
Things I loved: there's a huge whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling; touch tank w/ sea urchins, sea stars, limpets, anemones, abalone; octopus tank; jelly fish tank; giant sea bass; wave display; the exhibit about off shore oil platforms & the sea life that forms around them; and the moray eels! There is also a deeper part of the touch tank where you can look at leopard sharks, scorpion fish, and a moray eel, but you can't stick your hands in there - duh, would you want to?
I think it would be a good place to take little kids, since it is small, you can basically get a lot out of it just by walking thru the whole museum & taking it all in, within a 2 hour span. Parking is $1 an hour, and there is no admission but a suggested $5 donation per person. Totally worth it!
If you're looking for something to do for with your kids it's a great place to go. However, if you're looking for a fun activity to do to for the weekend and you're single. I wouldn't suggest going, it's kind of underwhelming as an aquarium it's more like one of those preserves but obviously it's easier to glass sea creatures up instead of say, fencing a wilderness area. It's definitely more kid focused than anything since the majority of the exhibits were pretty low to the ground and they had lot of pictographs, I suppose people who read USA Today here would feel comfortable too.
It's obviously a modest place it's no Sea World but the docents really do try their best to make things interesting and be informative and they're definitely they're for the kiddies, unfortunately if you're not one then it's really kind of boring.
The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium doesn't boast any large tanks that span from floor to ceiling, nor do they have special dark blue 'aquatic mood' lighting. However, this very back to basics aquarium (and I do mean basic--exposed pipes, chain-link fence separations, somewhat crowded specimen tanks) surely impresses. I enjoyed all the exhibits, and especially since they house some fairly amazing specimen--a giant live 13 lb. lobster, giant sea stars, octopus, various whale bones, tidepool tours--I'd love to reveal more, but I wouldn't want to spoil the surprises this aquarium offers! This place is a true diamond in the rough. It doesn't compromise its educational value for the sake of entertainment. Best of all, it's free.
Love this place, been here many of times. No charge at the door but donations are welcomed. The downfall is parking, I forgot how much it is but I know they charge. You can park up the street and walk for a couple of minutes if you don't want to pay for parking. There's also a lot of great places to hang out and picnic after. Touch tank is fun for young kids.
My grandparents lived in Gardena, so San Pedro was just a stone's throw from where they lived. Every summer, my brother and I would spend a few days here and there at my grandparent's place. They would take us on outings... they were mostly educational, but always fun.
One of my favorite outings was Cabrillo Beach and Museum. Before we left for the day, we would pack a picnic lunch of sandwiches, fruit, crackers and juice, and put on our bathing suits under our clothes. We would always start out the day at the beach by visiting the museum. I love this museum. I actually like it much better than the Aquarium of the Pacific. It is smaller and more quaint....and its free!
After visiting the museum, we would finish up our day at Cabrillo Beach. The beach has a cove, and by the rocks, you can spot the same sea anemones and some of the fish that you see in the museum. Its really cool to see them in their real natural habitat.
Me: "ALL THE SEAFOOD ARE BELONG TO MY MOUTH!"
Him: "....*uneasiness* Um, I don't think so, baby. Not here anyway."
Me: "Why? Don't you think if you open up that purple sea urchin, it'd be like opening up and eating those sea urchins at Redondo Beach pier ?"
Him: "...(I don't like urchins, but okay)...It's not food, buddy...and all the seafood doesn't belong to your mouth"
Ok, so all the sea creatures here in this aquarium don't belong in my mouth, but after being in places like Quality Seafood (http://www.yelp.com/bi... ) and Santa Barbara Shellfish Company (http://www.yelp.com/bi... ), I saw as living creatures in tanks as food....who could blame me, right ? I had to do a bit of paradigm shifting to see this place as what it is: an aquarium.
Like several reviewers said, this is an indie movie version of an aquarium with a strong emphasis on education. We were here in the first place for the grunion program. They showed an old 1970-ish video from the alma mater about how the grunion spawn and what not. It was very informational and it setted us up for some false expectations. (which is not their fault. The video was pretty awesome)
There are tons of families and little ones here, so as a couple, we felt like we stuck out like a sore thumb. We didn't get to catch any grunion that night and we attribute that to the overly anxious kids who couldn't wait for the educator's go-sign to look for the grunion. I personally think they scared the grunion away, but we were able to see one before the night ended.
For 20-somethings like us, we thought this place is okay. At this point, we like things shiny and flashy, so we feel like we probably won't be back here anytime soon. Maybe it'll change though in 10-15 years from now....who knows?
Oh, one thing I really enjoyed in their exhibit in the museum was the camouflaging flat fish. That entertained me for a good while....that's pretty much it though.
Ok, so this isn't exactly about the aquarium, but it is about their parking lot.. Last week I thought I would take my niece to see the grunion run at Cabrillo Beach. We got there around 9:30 pm. As we pulled into the parking, I took a look around at the signs to see if the parking lot closed at any certain time. The only signs I saw said that parking was pay-when-you-leave depending upon the amount of time you're there. There was an attendant at the exit booth, so I assumed we were fine. I parked and we headed to the beach in the dark.
My niece played around in the sand building sand pyramids. No grunion. The last time I went to the grunion run a few years ago, there were docents there who talked abut the fish and what what going on and shined big flood lights on the beach when the fish came ashore. Nothing this time. No docents, no lights, no fish.
After and hour and half of waiting in the cold in the dark, I was done. I told the kid we could come back the following night if she wanted, but it was time to go home. As we walked back to the car, the parking lot was strangely empty for the amount of people who were on the beach. As I drove up the driveway to exit I realized why. The gates were locked. We were freaking locked in the beach.
There were two Harbor Division cop cars on the other side of the gate. I got out of my car and asked if there was a way I could get out. They said they didn't have the key, that the parks and aquarium people do. They were sending someone "to the station" to see if there was a key there, but if they were able to unlock it that I would probably receive a citation for trespassing. Greeeeeat.
So we sat in the car for another half hour or so. The kid fell asleep in the back seat. I watched two more cop cars show up and six officers talking and chatting it up on the other side of the gate. Finally, fifteen minutes after the person with the key showed up, they unlocked the gate and let us out sans citation.
Part of me thinks this was a little game they play every night because I find it very hard to believe that this doesn't happen often since there was another person stuck there that night too and since there are no freaking signs posted. Whatever. At least I learned my lesson, right?
It wasn't very big, nor was it flashy, but I really enjoyed myself here. The main section of the aquarium houses different fish, starfish, jellyfish etc. There is a tide pool where kids (or adults too) can touch the starfish, sea urchin in the shallow water.
On the opposite site of the entrance are 2 smaller interactive areas where you can see how they make the food for all the critters who live there. The coolest part was when we were there, one of the staff members had just taken this huge jellyfish out and was about to extract the fertilized eggs from it to put into a petri dish where they can grow. This jellyfish was almost the size of the plastic tub it was in (see photo).
The staff member was explaining to us the various types of jellyfish and I was curious about the fertilization process of the jellyfish. Anyway, in the end, it was a super cool visit.
There is a recommended donation -- put some money in people!!
this is long beach's aquarium of the pacific nerdy cousin. LBCAotP is all flash and glamor with only a marginal amount of education thrown in for effect while CBMA is far more educational.
mind you the place still caters to the under 14 crowd like LBCAotP does, but you do not find the same large crowds and the kids here are far more quiet and studious.
there are microscopes you can view sea life with and a petting tank. admission is by donation ($5 dollar suggested) and then there is the biggest reason to come here for. at least for myself:
they have an extensive collection of jelly fish. i love jellyfish. they fascinate me and here you see can so many of them. bring your camera with you.
just mind you, there is $7 dollar parking fee. cash only.
This aquarium may be small, but it is mighty. It is free, and you can learn A LOT. There is a touch tank area, and brand new discovery center, plankton/ecology lab, and library. The staff are super knowledgeable and there is an overall friendly, family feel.
This place is excellent for kids, and is actually an education hot spot for LAUSD field trips.
The aquarium is nice except the hours are terrible and not what one would expect.
The beach itself is nothing spectacular. In fact, I wouldn't let anyone I know in the water but they have the friendliest sand crabs ever. My parents would enroll me in countless summer camps here when I was younger and I remember absolutely loving them. I had quite a few friends volunteer as docents for the museum and they had a blast.
Bonfires at the beach are awesome except for the fact that someone has to come with tons of wood, coolers and chairs hours before sunset or else your spot will get jacked. Cops are also a regular, busting minors left and right and carding everyone after 10. Beware, kids.
please go here and support the most awesome staff you'll ever find at a FREE aquarium (actually you are supposed to donate 5 bucks for adults)!
this place is so informative... it's not the most showy aquarium with tall glass windows looking into the deep blue sea kinda thing but in my opinion i learned more here than the aquarium of the pacific. they have open labs with sea animals growing and just a whole bunch of different fishes and species to look at. the people here really care about what you can learn. kids will have a great time dressing up as sea creatures and they even have a little classroom built for kids to learn and do hands on stuff in. my friend and cousin and i got to hatch grunion eggs!!!!! they gave every family a jar of grunion eggs to hatch and we did a little dance and learned the history and stuff about grunions. very fun.
this place is genuine and they treat their animals nice so go here and have a great time with your kids or yourself or whoever.
The first time I came to this aquarium my mother brought a boatload of my cousins and I. I must have been in first or second grade so all I remember were dark-ish rooms, an awesome gift shop and THE TOUCH TANK! I came again in High School on a field trip organized by my aunt who was also my biology/chemistry teacher. I recently visited again because my cousin works there so you see, it's always been a family affair!
I love this aquarium because no matter how many times I go I always learn new things and there are always new exhibits. I think I learned the most during my most recent visit because my cousin gave me a private tour and explained everything. I touched sea stars, saw baby shark's developing and moving around in little egg pouches, I learned about Jellyfish, sea otters and vernicious knids (just kidding no vernicious knids that's from Willy Wonka!) I learned about those fish with the lights on their heads like in Finding Nemo (did you know the males latch on to the females and don't go away even if she dies? talk about clingy!) My poor cousin....I was like a fascinated little kid! If anyone else wants a private tour with her let me know and I'll take you!
FIVE BIG STARS for this family-oriented aquarium!
Lots of activities for kids under 11:
Costumes (fish, lobster, skin divers and other sea creatures)
with four or five large backdrops to act out your sea fantasies
Puppets and a puppet theater.
A circular fish tank with a tunnel underneath so you can crawl into the middle and pretend you are a tank dweller.
Microscopes to examine small sea life.
A center to draw and create art works.
Hands-on tables of shells, shark teeth and other sea life.
A huge touch tank.
Lots of extremely kind, friendly and knowledgeable docents.
The main aquarium has tanks of various Pacific coast tide pool and ocean life. Beautiful anemones and sea urchins, HUGE starfish, the LARGEST lobster (3 or 4 feet) I have ever seen--I hope he know how lucky he is to be in a tank with a comfy future in the aquarium instead of some human's future dinner!
AND........the admission is by suggested donation. $5 for adults.
What a bargain! I loved seeing the variety of families there.
There is a parking fee of $7 on weekends and probably summers. We took the free shuttle from the Red Car Trains parking lot.
This is the independent cinema version of an aquarium.
Great exhibits but without the flash of Long Beach. Very educational.
The research center where they breed fish is open for visitation.
Really terrific and unique experience.
One of the best museum type places to go on the weekends with your kids.
I cant believe they don't charge to get in. My son loves coming here- its a great place to bring the kids, especially when you're on a budget. The gift shop has some of the cutest, reasonably priced things.
Go on Earth Day/Shark Week. I liked the flatfish and wave tank. I'd go back if there was a coastal cleanup nearby or the gruinion run. Production value could be higher but they only suggest donations instead of an admission price. They're making duct tape sculptures next week as part of the Whale Fiesta.
After spending a couple of hours sunning, sanding, and soaking at Cabrillo Beach, we checked out the aquarium. It's right there. We'd heard the beach wasn't the cleanest, but given that it was a day after a volunteer cleanup, it was about as good as it could have been -- paper plates and other washed-up detritus aside.
The aquarium's a little like the beach. Nothing flashy, but it does the trick. Other reviewers are correct that there's a heavy educational focus. There's a research library, demonstration lab, and ample marine life displays.
We particularly enjoyed the jellyfish, starfish, and other non-traditional marine life. There's no food in the aquarium, but there is a gift shop if you want a souvenir to remember your visit by.
Free, with optional donation. Throw them a fiver, adults.
IT'S FREE!!!!!!!!! and they have manatee costumes that you can put on!
This is one of my favorite Aquariums in California. While it doesn't have the mass appeal of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and it doesn't have the history of the Steinhardt, it makes up for these shortfallings by offering a really amazing view of local species in appropriate habitats. You will see how animals have adapted to human intervention, and you will see some of the fish and wildlife species you never knew existed right off our coast. You will also learn to recognize shark egg casings that wash up with the kelp on the beach, and get to touch some interesting animals in their Tidepool/Touch tank area. Fun place for a 7-12 year old who needs a rainy day excursion when you're in LA!
nestled on cabrillo beach, this place is an awesome little public aquarium. if i had to sum it up in one sentence: it brings the ocean to the public, and especially kids. admissions is free but you should give them a little donation 'cuz they do excellent work here. the walk-thru area is full of tanks and cool exhibits. they have a nice collection of jellyfish and sea stars, but the coolest thing (to me) are the seapens. this is also a GREAT place to take kids 'cuz they have SO many activities and events for kids and they can learn so much here. there's also a wealth of hands-on stuff for kids to do, ie the touch tank, classrooms, and the new *research* wing. they do do some research here and they collaborate with people from universities. there's also a cultivation of abalones, which used to be abundant in san pedro but go wiped out by people's mouths. another great even is their grunions program during certain times of the year. overall, this is an active and proliferative place. the staff is super friendly and knowledgeable, and the attitude and environment of the whole place is just great
