Aquarium of the Pacific

The Aquarium of the Pacific sits at 100 Aquarium Way in Long Beach, organized around the marine habitats of the Pacific Ocean. Galleries move you through Southern California and Baja waters, the colder Northern Pacific, and the coral-rich Tropical Pacific, each built around species native to those regions. Skip-the-line entry means you can head straight into the exhibits rather than waiting at the ticket counter.

Shark Lagoon puts you close to some of the ocean's top predators, while the lorikeet aviary lets you hand-feed the birds directly. Magellanic penguins have their own habitat to watch and wander past. Pacific Visions extends the experience further, combining underwater exhibits with a look at future ocean conservation, anchored by the Honda Pacific Visions Theater — an 8-minute multisensory film shown on a 180-degree curved screen with floor projection, included in your admission.

The aquarium's newest addition, FROGS - Facing a Changing World, is worth building time for. It covers frog species from around the globe alongside California and Baja natives, with a behind-the-scenes look at how staff raise frogs from eggs through adulthood. There's even a station where you can design your own virtual frog before you leave.

Once inside, you'll move through galleries themed around distinct Pacific ecosystems, starting with the warmer waters of Southern California and Baja before working through the colder Northern Pacific and the vivid coral reefs of the Tropical Pacific. Along the way, Shark Lagoon puts you face-to-face with some of the ocean's top predators, and the lorikeet aviary gives you the chance to hand-feed the birds. The Magellanic penguin habitat offers another slower-paced stop to watch them move around their enclosure.

From there, Pacific Visions shifts the focus toward the future of ocean conservation, blending underwater exhibits with the Honda Pacific Visions Theater's 8-minute film, screened on a 180-degree curved screen with floor projection. Save time too for FROGS - Facing a Changing World, where colorful tropical frog habitats sit alongside a look at how staff care for frogs from eggs to adulthood — plus a spot to build your own virtual frog before heading out.