New York Aquarium
The city's only aquarium, with over 8,000 animals, in Coney Island
Located on the shore in Coney Island, the New York Aquarium is an exciting and educational way to explore the less visible inhabitants of the harbor and the world's more distant seas.
The aquarium is home to 8,000 specimens from all across the globe. Visitors can stop by the tanks in this beautiful park and see perennial favorites like penguins, sharks, and walruses, as well as lesser known creatures including invertebrates, fresh water fish, eels, and a variety of other species. The aquarium also gives visitors the chance to get hands on with some of its residents at the interactive touch pools.
The aquarium houses the nation's only permanent jellyfish exhibit, as well as the newly renovated exhibit Salt Marsh which recreates a section of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and illuminates what is living in those mysterious waters. Visitors can see the hermit and horseshoe crabs, minnows, and invertebrates that all make their homes in the nutrient rich grasses of Jamaica Bay.
Operated by the Wildlife Conservation Society, the aquarium's mission is one of education, preservation, and research. It applies this philosophy to all of its exhibits, providing information on the animals that make their home in its tanks and pursuing efforts abroad to protect and learn about these creatures.
Originally located in Battery Park, the aquarium moved to its present site in Coney Island 50 years ago. Situated on the beach immediately next to the boardwalk, it is a great introduction to what lives in both the nearby waters and beyond. This iconic destination is an educational and exciting spot for family trips or for anyone looking to escape into the farthest reaches of the sea.
