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34 reviews for Oregon Coast Aquarium
If you have any interest in the Northwest marine environment and its biodiversity, the Oregon Coast Aquarium is a "must see". Passages of the Deep is intelligently designed, and the exhibits are lovingly maintained by trained volunteer divers and marine biologists. It is unfortunate that so much of what makes this Aquarium fascinating is conducted behind the scenes (food preparation, care of specimens, etc.), but what is readily accessible to the public is educational and fascinating.
If you scuba dive in the Northwest, this is a great way to fine-tune your fish identification skills! If you don't, this insight into the marine life you'll find in the Puget Sound, Hood Canal, Tacoma Narrows and elsewhere in the Northwest may fuel your interest in becoming a certified diver!
The larger exhibits are coldwater environments; the seawater is 45-48 degrees F, drawn directly from nearby Newport Bay. You will come away with a deeper appreciation of the abundance, diversity and color of what lies beneath the surface of Northwestern waters.
Take the time to observe, to study. This is not a place to hurry.
If you think the admission is expensive, consider how expensive it is to maintain and feed these marvelous creatures. The ratio of paid staff to volunteers is 1:6; in other words, there are six times as many volunteers as there are staff members. This Aquarium could not exist without their efforts and your admission fee.
Visit, explore, ask questions, and the next time you admire a seaside sunset, you'll have a much better idea what lies beyond the shorebreak and beneath the surface. Our world doesn't stop at the low water mark when the tide recedes. There's another world beyond it, and this aquarium is your (driest and) most convenient insight into it!
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My husband calls me gazangutan (half gazelle, half orangutan). He finally got to prove how long my arms were against the "what's your wingspan" wall (on the left when you enter). Let's just say I'm larger than the snowy owl. Ok ok, so what...my arms are freakishly long...
Anyways, cool aquarium at a reasonable price. It was a nice way to spend a drizzly weekend (altho, some of the exhibits are outside). Good assortment of fish and other marine creatures. Fun touching pools for kids and adults (2 of them).
I love aquariums and the Oregon Coast Aquarium is no different.
First off, it irks me when reviewers point-out they've been to larger aquariums and say this is just A-OK. You can't compare them. Having gone to Monterey Bay, Boston, and a small aquarium in Cape Cod, I have to say I really enjoyed visiting the OCA a few weeks ago.
You have to remember this is for Oregon coast mammals and fish, so you're not necessarily going to see the animals you would see in Atlanta or Boston, for example.
Exhibits are well-planned with enough walking room. Some of the in-wall tanks get a little crowded as people get up close and stare for a while, but that's OK - it would be disheartening if they didn't bother looking.
Touch pools are great and the volunteers were wonderful. Friendly and informative, they answered questions and pointed-out some unusual facts (who knew people stupidly put their fingers in the mouths of sea anemones, which then, usually, winds-up killing the sea anemones?).
Passages of the Deep was cool, but my initial impression (from what I heard) was that it was really underwater - like Jaws 3. Gift shops had some reasonably-priced items whereas other items (like most gift shops at tourist attractions) were way overpriced - don't forget to pick-up a piece of fudge at the gift shop at the end of Passages of the Deep; it's incredible.
The outdoor tanks with the otters and sea lions were great. Like the OP, I agree you have to bend and twist your neck. Too bad they didn't have stadium seating. I could've passed on the aviary, as I'm not a fan of birds, but we went inside anyway as I was hosting my younger sister on vacation.
Admission seems a little high. $10-$12 for adults would seem more appropriate, but given the rising costs of everything these days, it didn't surprise me.
All in all, if you can make the trip, head to the Oregon Coast Aquarium.
I'm an on-the-fence Hippo! This so-small pet enjoyed this place and had a plush-friendly time. However, I was a little (literally) disappointed with this place. No aviary? No sea Hippos? I'm trying with all the strength in my scarf not to compare it to Monterey or Long Beach. What do I know? I'm a Hippo! I got tiny little goose-bumps on my nose when I saw the octopus. Hippo Fact #42: Hippos get goose-bumps when they see octopi ('cause they're creepy beasts) . Anyway, I'm a small Hippo, and this is also a small place. Is this a good thing or bad? This Hippo wants pizza!!
Rainy wednesday & the line @ 2:oo pm was about 40 deep,must have hit the place on field trip day .
Forty three bucks for the three of us to get in.
Pretty neat displays,on our 2nd vist here.
A good day out the rain but,not quite up the the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California.
Worth the entrance fee
Growing up in Florida, I've seen some pretty tacky tourist attractions masquerading as biological exhibits. This aquarium does not stoop to those levels, thank the sea goddess. Sure, they have the cheezy souvenir shop, the flashy marketing campaigns to attract the kids, etc. But perhaps that is what you need to do to compete against the Disney channel.
The Oddwater exhibit was not as "odd" as I was expecting. Why not? That batfish was downright freaky. Alas, self-awareness uncovers my own susceptibility for attraction to sensational exhibitionism. Go check it out. When will you ever be able to see a giant Japanese crab the size of a medium sized dog?
I bought a cookbook from a nice fisherman's wife who was exhibiting her book during "Oregon Commercial Fisheries Day". Fishing - an occupation where gender still matters.
The touch tank is cool here. Also the undersea tunnel.
The real adventure awaits you at the local tidepools, sea kayak tours, and whale watch excursions.
Awesome fish exhibits, but the place was way to small for the price of admission. I still had a good time.
We stopped at the Oregon Coast Aquarium for three reasons
1. I love aquariums
2. My Mom has a very weird obsession with sea otters
3. We had to go somewhere not beer related so that we could have something to tell my grandma about.
I feel as if i am biased towards this aquarium since i was at the Georgia one like three days before. But this wasn't a bad little aquarium. I was a little suprised at how expensive it was (like $14) for not a whole lot of aquarium!
I did like that a large amount of it was outside (the seals, sea otters and birds), however i feel that being located in the pacific northwest, this was a risky move. It rains a lot here! But the sea otters were cute :) I wish that there was more viewing room for the seals cause i felt like i was cramming my head into see.
The oceans of the deep exhibit was pretty amazing as the sharks and fish swam all around you. But the rest of the indoor exhibits we very unimpressive.
The gift shop was really cool, and i probably would have bought a really cute otter if i hadn't just bought the softest penguin ever at the georgia aquarium.
It was near to see but i'm not sure that i would ever need to come back here
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This was a sweet little place. Much exceeded my expectation for an aquarium located in a quaint little city like Newport. Animals are well kept, and in obvious good health. Not only the cute mammals, even the invertebrates are healthy. I am really quite impressed. I highly recommend the Oregon Coast Aquarium, the seal exhibit alone is worth travelling some distance for.
Other thoughts, probably only relevant to lone travellers and Asians:
I often visit institutions like this by myself, and this is the FIRST place where people didn't look at me as if I was crazy to be alone. They only looked at me as if I was strange, which I admittedly am. LOL. (You won't believe the look a lone visitor gets in, for example, Monterey Bay Aquarium or Steinhart Aquarium).
Travelling along the Oregon coast visiting small towns as a person of Asian descent, one gets used to being looked at funny, and treated differently. In this little aquarium, and in this little city, the prejudice is not noticeable. Which endear it to me :)
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For what it is, it's impressive. Relatively cheap compared to admission to the Monterey aquarium. They had your standard coast sea animals and a nice outdoor area. Flows better than Monterey and thankfully had less people. The shark tube/room was a nice touch.
Where else can I go to see sea otters feeding, get crapped on by a puffin, and pet sting rays and be back to work at 5 o clock? Well Sea World but I no longer reside in the right state for that.
As a child I came here a lot with my family and friends. It was mainly to see Keiko (I'll never forget the first time i got a chance to see him and he was pooping). Its always been a wonderful and magical place, but now that I study marine life in my free time (shouldn't I be studying for veterinary stuff? nah) the aquarium is 4456 times better.
The Oddwater exhbit they have right now is not to be missed. They have beautiful custom blown glass art in all of the tanks and really focus on the preservation for some of the seas oddest creatures. The glass is so beautiful and is designed extremely well for each individual tank. If you go, make sure whoever you go with wants to sit down for a half hour and watch the film they are showing right now on bioluminescence... one of my favorite things ever.
This place is full of children squealing with delight... and then me... squealing far more. I'm adorable. If you ask nicely, I might show you a picture from when I was 12 in my keiko sweatshirt with braces.
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Oh snap! Fishes galore! And most of them are cute, too.
This place has an incredibly cool exhibit going on right now called Oddwater that features all of those fish that went stag to the fishie prom in High School because they were different from the other fish. But now they have blossomed into beautiful little critters! The tanks feature all kinds of beautiful blown glass structures for these little guys to hide it.
Now if you do go to this aquarium REMEMBER THIS:
-You have to see the Sea Lion Feeding, it's the best part of the aquarium
-The Otter Feeding is the second best part
-Go see the puffins!
Anyone who says the lumpfish isn't cute is just jealous.
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Loved this aquarium. The exhibits were unusual because of the wide use of blown glass in the tanks instead of live plants. I thought they were beautiful. Very different, and unique to this area of the country. The gift store has some fun souvenirs, better than what you will find at the harbor stores.
Exhibits include: Sandy Shores, Rocky Shores, Coastal Waters, the Octopus Exhibit, a Sea Otter Exhibit, Seal and Sea Lion Exhibit, an Aviary, a Plover Exhibit, and my personal favorite, The Passages of the Deep Tunnel, where you are surrounded by SHARKS- Yikes! See my pix for examples of some of the exhibits I liked the best.
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Definitely worth the price of admission. The oddwater exhibit made the aquarium. The sea otters, seals and sea cows (lions) were great. I was hoping to see more big mammals like whales or dolphins. The coastal environment stuff was pretty cool with the starfish and rock fish.
I guess I am the minority here, I didn't find the Oregon Coast Aquarium to be pricey at all. Is $15 a lot of money these days? Huh...ok well lets just say there are many other aquariums and zoos that are a lot more expensive out there in the world!
The aquarium is quite fun, we had such a great time. What I found quite interesting is how much sense it made to have so much of the aquarium outdoors, having so many different areas to explore seemed to keep the little kids a lot more calm. I only witnessed one little kid meltdown during our entire visit! The grounds were well maintained which was also a nice bonus. I have been to aquariums before where the floor is wet or the grounds are ill designed...not fun. But, the Oregon Aquarium didn't have either of those things!
I loved the seahorses, the jellyfish, the sea nettles, and all of the amazing fish. My favorite part was the passages of the deep exhibit, how cool were those giant sting rays swimming all around you? That was awesome. The seal and sea lion exhibit was my husbands favorite. We were fortunate enough to get there right at feeding time and seeing them perform all different stunts was really cool. It was super cute to see my husband laughing so hard at the sea lions and seals...that was probably my favorite memory.
Really fun place to visit and easily in my top five all time aquarium visits. Monterey is still the best of course ($25 to get in) and Chicago ($18 admission) is second. (The one in Atlanta is still on my list though...I hear good things about that one)
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First off, this is the best aquarium in the State of Oregon, hands down.
The reason it only gets 3 stars is the price. $14.95 a person, and our 3 year old was $8.75! Damn. Then they have the audacity to provide a donation jar as well...? With the high admission prices and 90% volunteer employees, these guys are laughing all the way to the bank.
Whoever runs/owns the aquarium knows they are one of the only family fun weather not permitting gigs in town and they make sure you pay for it.
All that being said, it is very nice and we had a great time. The walk through glass aquariums are awesome, and there are many beautiful animals to behold.
Check it out, even if it is expensive.
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We had such a great time here, we will definitely be back. It's just the right size for our family - big enough to engage all of us but not so huge that our 2 toddlers were overwhelmed. Very manageable in just a couple of hours.
There is a good variety of sea life to see: seals, sea otters, sharks, jelly fish, birds, crazy Japanese crabs and much more.
The staff was efficient and friendly, always a plus.
It was a perfect 4th of July afternoon visit.
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What I love about the Oregon Coast Aquarium:
Jelly fish silently floating through electric blue lit water.
Watching my son squeal with delight as he touches the anemones and sea stars.
Walking under the water tunnel to see leopard sharks and giant halibut swimming overhead.
Cool (bud sad) educational information about how damaging litter can be to the ocean life and beaches.
Seeing the sea otters being fed by laying fish on their tummies and then watching them roll over and scramble for the fish they just knocked off.
Imagining how the leg on that King crab would look on my dinner plate.
The giant octupus with such strange facial features staring out from his cave.
The nature trail with native plants and the view of Yaquina Bay at the end of it.
It's only 2 hours away and my kids always love going. I just might have to buy that family membership...
Be sure to check out the photos at the top of the reviews that I posted!
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I admit up front because having been to the Galapagos, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Shedd Aquarium, etc. I am jaded, but that said the Oregon Coast Aquarium is a very good aquarium by any standard. Although it is fairly small it fits in alot of great displays including Oddwater combining glass art and odd fish (although a bit overdone), passages of the deep (more on this later), sea otters, aviary, sea lions, touch pools (yes plural), etc. My favorite was the passages of the deep which you literally walk through (protected by a glass tube you walkthrough) allowing nearly a nearly 360 degree view with fish, sharks, etc. swimming next to, under, and over you. The downsides other than being small was that marine mammals and avians were under represented and the otter exhibit water was on the murky side. Still overall definitely worth a visit and maybe even a membership. (And don't forget to visit the Shedd and Monterey Aquariums if you get a chance).
It's almost 15 bucks for an adult pass! Are you freaking kidding me? I mean, the aquarium is something that I want to support, but it's hard to do so when the Hatfield marine science center just down the street is free/by donation. They have some cool stuff, like the passages of the deep walk through and the touch pool, but $15 cool? I don't think so.
Sometimes my mom wants us to go as a family and she buys my ticket and so then it's pretty okay. So I guess your best bet for getting in, without having to spend an arm and a leg, is to ask her to adopt you.
GREAT little aquarium. very interactive, aquarists are very friendly and volunteers were great
This spot was one of the highlight of my daughters fall break last week.
I did not think the entree fee was high at all..we were there about 3 hours..we timed it just right..1pm sea lion feeding and 3:30 otter feeding. It was so great! I love how so much of it is outside..also the fact that most people that work there are volunteers..they love their job!..they volunteer to be here every day..and they are all so nice! Check out me photos..I hung out with the Seahorses..like forever my daughter said..and also the jellyfish..I am so getting a tank in my house..talk about calming...It's a great great family place..something for everyone..super clean as well and so well maintained..I will definitely go back and recommend to anyone traveling in Oregon. This is one place Oregon should be proud of. Now the rip off was the Sea Lion Caves.
This place is awesome! They have a rotating exhibit area where I saw the coolest display of bats!
They also feature a walk through aquarium area where you are walking under the water and can gaze at fish above as well as below you.
They do shows and feedings at scheduled times, which is rather popular with the little ones.
Oh, real bonus was that I got to touch a sea star, yes..that is the offical name, not a star fish! Who knew?!
Friendly volunteers and staff. Gift shop was rather pricey, I'd pass that one up unless you really want an overpriced stuffed animal.
I agree that it's the best aquarium in Oregon and I agree that it's pricey. That's a lot of money for a family. However, it must be within reach of most families because when we went the place was PACKED with kids and parents. They were mostly small kids that were right at eye level with many of the exhibits which required me to get on my knees, stand on my head or bend over - exposing my backside to all in the audience! There are some exhibits at eye level for adults. The underwater tunnel is cool - but I'll bet we had 3-4 kids bump in to each of us (my hubby and me). They were running wild! Best exhibit was the jelly fish. Even Chattanooga, TN has a better priced and more fascinating - better flow for for attendees - aquarium. I've been to MANY aquariums and this had one of the worst "flows" for attendees so it was easy to miss something or circle back into an area already covered.
Summary: OK - Fun - expect GOBS of kids under foot and to be needing to be flexible to view! Not the best in the country, but the best in OREGON.
The one thing I remember greatly about this aquarium as it was so long ago was that I saw Keiko. Awww, Keiko. I think he pooped while I was there.
Great aquarium though. Highly recommended.
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I remember back when there was no aquarium, only an octopus in the tank over at the marine science center.
This aquarium is awesome! One of the best I've seen across the country! It's small, but the exhibits beautiful, clean and informative.
And you can see Free Willy.
i'm a sucker for an aquarium so i end up hitting this place about once a year. it's really not that impressive and the entrance fee is kinda high. but i keep going back. here's why:
the otters here are some of the most playfull and interactive i've ever seen. they will swim back and forth in front of the viewing windows to check out the patrons.
also, they have those little tiny jellyfish and seahorses.
super cool.
I can't say that I'm an expert on large aquariums, but this one is pretty great for what it is.
The shark exhibit and the otter exhibits are personal favorites. There is a nice information station that you will see right when you walk in.
I was also fortunate enough to go the aquarium on a weekday in September, so I have no idea about what the traffic is during a busy holiday weekend Saturday.
Bottom line, this is a good aquarium. It's not huge, but the place is nice and has a great variety of sea life.
Where's Keiko the whale? He's gone. (Dead, actually)
BUT they do have seals, sharks, sea otters and all other sorts of fun animals to look at; not to mention stuff inside in tanks and a nice blend of natural history, industry awareness and local vegetation info.
Try to avoid the peak times as I'm sure it would get busy, the parking lot looks like it could hold 400 cars. We were there on a cloudy Tuesday (Wednesday?) morning with about 40 other people, and it was starting to reach my threshold of too many people standing in front of me.
Also, they offer a AAA discount of 10%! :)
This is apparently the oldest aquarium on the west coast, and its age shows. Everything is on a smaller scale than newer aquariums, but some of the small tanks have some very unique and interesting animals (ex. a wolf eel juvenile that was only a few inches long).
There are a few tanks of the more common jellies as well as a couple of egg yolk jellies that were very exotic looking. We caught a temporary crabs exhibit that awesome - the Alaskan crabs were enormous!
The outdoors exhibits were a little less interesting, but there's lots of room for kids to run around. The giant pacific octopus was showcasing itself like nobody's business - it was probably the most clear view of a large octopus I'd ever seen, and I've been to at least 7 aquariums.
The shark tunnels are not impressive at first glance, but if you sit in there a while you can see some cool things, like a rockfish eating a crab, though when we asked the volunteer, she insisted that stuff like that doesn't happen. Hmmmmmm. They have a couple of broadnose seven gill sharks that are nasty-cool looking.
We went in mid April, so the parking lot was mostly empty and there were no crowds at all.
Some photos here:
http://flickr.com/phot...
Well worth the 2 1/2 hour drive from Portland. Brought back many fond memories of taking our youngsters to various aquariums, including THE BEST Monterrey Aquarium. Puts our teeney tiny Honolulu Aquarium to shame.
Just your average Pacific coast aquarium with one major difference. They have a huge exhibit where you walk though the tank in giant glass tubes. It really is amazing and well worth the price of admission.
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A gem. I love the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Use AAA discount.
i don't know why there are two different entries for Oregon Coast Aquarium, so i just went with the first one that popped up.
i think i'm going to grow old with no kids, because for someone who loves kids, i could also passionately hate them too. especially when i'm at the zoo, aquarium, theme park whatever. The kids i brought here were freakin' angels compared to the hyper-ass little monkeys running around the damn aquarium without an "excuse me". it's 3:30 and time to feed the sea otters, and what do the punk ass kids do? squeeze their little monkey asses between me and the glass. WTF you little punk get to the back! and parents really need to watch what their kids are licking, because there is plenty of saliva and fingerprints on the glasses... i would feel bad if those animals got sick because of a punk ass kid.
but anyway, we kept going the opposite direction of the monkeys to avoid having a bad time here. it was cute to see crabs, lobsters, fish, sharks, puffins, sea lions, otters, and stuff.
