24 Best Aquariums in the United States of America for Vacation in USA - Part 01

Aquariums offer a great way for people of all ages to immerse themselves in the underwater world, which few get to see in real life, and learn not only about the creatures that live in our rivers, lakes, and oceans, but also about their habitats and the issues that put them in danger of extinction. Here are the best American aquariums

Located near Centennial Olympic Park in the center of Atlanta, Georgia Aquarium is a magical place with several major galleries with over 70 different habitats, holding 10 million gallons of water where thousands of marine creatures thrive. You'll see whale sharks, dolphins, manta rays, beluga whales, African penguins, sea otters, exotic marine animals and fish species.

There is also a famous AT&T Dolphin Tales show, a combination of animal behavior educational messages, theater, a captivating Broadway-inspired musical score and a thrilling story. The animated " Deepo 's Undersea 3D Wondershow " tells the story about the need to preserve animals and their habitats. The aquarium also runs several background programs such as meeting dolphins, penguins and ocean otters or swimming with manta rays and whale sharks.

Located on the historic Cannery Row in Monterey, the objective of the Monterey Bay Aquarium is to inspire conservation of the world's oceans. Founded in 1984, it is considered one of the world’s top aquariums and is famous for its innovative and fascinating exhibitions. The aquarium has 34 galleries with 200 exhibits containing 35,000 animals from over 550 species.

The exhibits show one of the world's richest marine regions and the habitats and species that call it home. The aquarium is also one of the world's most respected marine conservation institutions and has a range of programs aimed at providing detailed information on some fascinating sea creatures, the most popular being the otter and penguin feeding programs, which allow visitors to get up close and personal to these charming species.

New York Aquarium was opened in 1896 and is America's oldest operating aquarium. In 1957, the aquarium moved to the Brooklyn Coney Island boardwalk and is the only New York City aquarium. The facility is part of the Wildlife Conservation Society, the largest metropolitan wildlife park network in the country.

The New York Aquarium aims to preserve all wildlife and wildlife in the world. It is spread over 14 acres and has 266 aquatic species. The New York Aquarium is under major renovation, but some of its main attractions are still open, such as the Glovers Reef, the outdoor Sea Cliffs, the Conservation Hall and the Aquatheater, which features a sea lion demonstration.

The Shedd Aquarium was opened in 1930 and was once the world's largest indoor aquarium and was the first inland aquarium to have a permanent collection of saltwater fish. It currently supplies 32,000 animals in 5,000,000 gallons of water. Shedd Aquarium is located in the heart of the Museum Campus Chicago together with the Field Museum of Natural History and the Adler Planetarium.

The various habitats of the aquarium contain 1500 species including fish, mammals, snakes, birds, amphibians and insects. Some of the award - winning exhibits of the museum includes Seahorse Symphony, Amazon Rising and Wild Reef. Although the aquarium has a large number of temporary exhibitions, there are several permanent exhibitions, namely the Waters of the World, the Amazon Rising, the Caribbean Reef, the Wild Reef and the Oceanarium.

The National Aquarium, formerly known as the Baltimore National Aquarium, is located in the Inner Harbor of Baltimore and opened in 1981. The 2,200,000 gallons of water in the aquarium house 17,000 creatures from over 750 species. The purpose of the aquarium is to inspire efforts to preserve the world's aquatic treasures by addressing the pressing issues affecting aquatic habitats through advanced science, education and conservation.

The most notable exhibits of the aquarium are the Upland Tropical Rain Forest, the spectacular Atlantic Coral Reef, and Australia: Wild Extremes and the Open Ocean Shark Tank. One of the most popular features of the aquarium is the 4D Immersion Theater, while the large marine mammal pavilion opened in 1990 now houses eight Atlantic bottlenose dolphins.

Located on Yaquina Bay in Newport, the Oregon Coast Aquarium was opened in 1992 and soon became the popular coastal attraction of Oregon and the center of maritime education in Oregon. The aquarium is known as Keiko's home, the orca of the Free Willy film, until it was released in the waters near Iceland in 1998. The Aquarium focuses on the Oregon coast 's marine and terrestrial flora and fauna. In addition to the area that hosts changing exhibits, there are three permanent exhibits–Rocky Shores, Sandy Shores and Coastal Waters.

The first exhibit contains species living in bays such as Yaquina Bay or near the coast. The aquarium also features animals, a kelp forest and an exhibit of jellyfish. The outdoor aquarium also has a large seabird aviary and houses marine mammals from the coast of Oregon, such as sea otters, California sea lions and harbor seals. A fascinating coastal cave houses a huge Pacific Octopus.

Located right on the Mississippi River, next to the French Quarter, the Audubon Aquarium exhibits various exhibitions of North and South American aquatic habitats. The aquarium houses over 15,000 animals from 600 species in this state of the art facility.

The most popular exhibits include Caribbean Reef, which is enclosed in a transparent 30-foot - long tunnel holding 132,000 gallons of water with Caribbean species such as the tarpon and angelfish, and Amazon World, a giant humid, hot greenhouse protected by a glass cylinder and filled with tropical plants and trees, piranhas, macaws, anacondas, freshwater stingrays, and many other fascinating species. The Mississippi River exhibit features paddlefish, catfish, owls, and a white alligator, while the Gulf of Mexico exhibit has a 17-foot-tall tank filled with sharks, stingrays, marine turtles, and much more.

The 1977 Seattle Aquarium is a public aquarium located on the Elliott Bay waterfront at Pier 59 in Seattle, Washington. The aim of the aquarium is to promote marine conservation and the teaching of human impacts on marine life. Some of the main exhibits include Window on Washington Waters, which mimics the Washington coastal waters and hosts native marine life such as rockfish, salmon, and sea anemones; the Crashing Waves exhibit, which showcases Washington shores between the intertidal zone and a depth of about 5 feet; and Life on the Edge, featuring the tidepool life of Seattle's inland sea.

The Life of a Drifter exhibit has a 12-foot - tall glass " donut " filled with moon jellies and giant Pacific octopus, Pacific Coral Reef is an artificial coral reef teeming with reef fish, Ocean Oddities displays pinecone fish, flying gurnards, cowfish, potbellied seahorses, and short dragonfish, and the Marine Mammals exhibit includes harbor seals, sea otters, northern fur seals, and river otters and also contains the Orca Family Activity Center.

The Pacific Aquarium is a public aquarium located on Rainbow Harbor, Long Beach, California, across a 5-acre site from the Long Beach Convention Center. The aquarium houses over 11,000 animals from more than 500 species and contains three main permanent galleries. The warm Southern California / Baja Gallery has a three - story Blue Cavern tank with animals that live around Catalina Island, the Amber Forest contains a replica of a giant kelp forest, while the Gulf of California simply teems with fish like Cortez rainbow wrasse, porcupine fish, and Mexican lookdowns.

It also includes a sea lion and seal habitat, a ray touch pool and the Shorebird Sanctuary. The Northern Pacific Gallery contains a selection of Bering Sea species and habitats, such as the sea otter habitat with southern sea otters, and the diving birds with puffins and auklets, and the giant Pacific octopus tank. The tropical Pacific 350,000-gallon tank houses a tropical reef habitat with zebra sharks, olive groves and many other species.

The Florida Aquarium is located in the Channel district of Tampa city center. Opened in 1995, it contains over 20,000 aquatic animals and plants from Florida and the rest of the world that thrive in a large 250,000-foot aquarium. The facility has a wealth of conservation and education programs and offers summer camps and school trips.

The exhibits of the Florida Aquarium show the water journey from freshwater springs to the Gulf of Mexico. Among the most interesting exhibits are a simulated wetlands under a glass atrium, Bays and Beaches with aquatic species that live in Tampa Bay and along Florida shores, and a coral reef with a simulated 60-foot dive that shows how the reef and the plants and animals that live in it change as the depth increases.

The New England Aquarium is located in Boston, Massachusetts, on the Central Warf and also includes the Simons IMAX Theater and the seasonal New England Whale Watch Aquarium, which runs from April to November. The aquarium's main attraction is the magnificent Giant Ocean Tank, a 200,000-gallon tank with a simulation of the Caribbean reef in the open atrium.

It houses stingrays, sharks, moray eels, sea turtles, barracuda and other reef inhabitants. The penguin exhibit is at the bottom and four other exhibits are located around the atrium. Some of the most interesting exhibits include the Thinking Gallery with goliath groupers, sea dragons, and ancient fishes, the Freshwater Gallery with piranha and anacondas on one side and electric eels together with Atlantic salmon on the other, and The Edge of the Sea tide pool, which has sea stars, snails, sea urchins, and horseshoe and hermit crabs.

Steinhart Aquarium is situated in the heart of Golden Gate Park, part of the California Academy of Sciences. It is considered one of the most interactive and biologically diverse aquariums in the world. The original aquarium was opened in 1923 and has been extended and modernized considerably since then. It houses nearly 40,000 animals of over 900 species. One of the main exhibits is the 250-foot-deep Philippine Coral Reef, which features a rich range of aquatic species from coral reefs and mangroves in the Philippines.

The Osher Rainforest has three levels of dense canopy filled with free - floating tropical birds, reptiles, butterflies and amphibians and a giant flooded forest tank with freshwater fish at the bottom. Other popular exhibits include the California Ecosystem, Swamp, Animal Attraction, etc.