USA: Land of 170 Aquariums

birdsandbats said:
What about Minnesota Zoo's Discovery Bay?
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I would include Discovery Bay on the list, not because it is a great aquarium but by how tiny some of the aquariums on the original list of aquariums on the US. If those qualify as stand alone aquariums MN's I think would be included.
 
Here are 4 very tiny aquariums located in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and I had never even heard of any of them. Yikes!

Puget Sound Estuarium (Olympia, WA)
Westport Aquarium (Westport, WA)
Marine Life Center (Bellingham, WA)
Charleston Marine Life Center (Charleston, OR)
 
The USA is getting a 9th Sea Life franchise in early 2019...in San Antonio. It will open at Rivercenter Mall and interestingly enough the state of Texas has seen a 'deluge' of new aquariums open in recent years. Sea Life Grapevine (2011), Austin Aquarium (2013), San Antonio Aquarium (2014), SeaQuest Interactive Aquarium (2017) and now Sea Life San Antonio (2019).

Find Information about SEA LIFE San Antonio
 
It is going to be a race between the Sea Life and SeaQuest franchises as in 2019 a 9th Sea Life will grace the USA while SeaQuest will open its 6th location later this year.

SeaQuest Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is due to open to the public in November and here is an article about the event:

Broward to get SeaQuest interactive aquarium at Galleria in Fort Lauderdale

The new, 23,000 sq. ft. aquarium has already garnered the ire of animal rights activists due to the shady dealings of the owner:

Animal rights activists protest plans for Galleria mall aquarium

By my count, the USA will have 157 public aquariums by this time next year.
 
An important question: What makes something an aquarium? Is a nature center with a couple of small fish tanks an aquarium?
 
TinoPup said:
An important question: What makes something an aquarium? Is a nature center with a couple of small fish tanks an aquarium?
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I don't think that a nature center with a couple of small fish tanks is an aquarium by any stretch of the imagination. If you look through the list that I provided on this thread, you'll see that most of the 150+ public aquariums in the USA charge an admission fee, have at least a dozen or more exhibits and are stand-alone facilities. There are another dozen aquariums within major zoos but those don't count as stand-alone aquariums. However, at the end of the day it is a somewhat subjective decision as to what constitutes a 'zoo' or an 'aquarium'.
 
snowleopard said:
The United States of America is certainly a wonderful nation to visit if one is a zoo enthusiast, as there are approximately 600 zoos and 150 aquariums in the country to make it a grand total of 750 "zoos" from coast to coast. Over the years I've accumulated a lengthy list of establishments with exotic wildlife that are open to the public, and below I've provided the total aquariums in the nation. It is sometimes a struggle to define what exactly constitutes a zoo or aquarium and it has been tricky creating these lists in the past. Nevertheless, included below are the trio of SeaWorld parks, several marine mammal centers, a few swim-with-the-dolphin-type places and a whole lot more! Please let me know about any facilities that are not on the list and I can add them to the ever-growing archive of aquatic institutions.

The asterisks (**) are next to the ones that I've personally visited over the years. It is staggering to consider that even with all of my various summer zoo trips I'm still only halfway from seeing every aquarium in the USA! I quite possibly might have toured more American aquariums than just about anyone else but it seems as if a couple of new ones open up every year and I'm not sure that anyone can ever see them all.

Alabama (3)
Alabama Shoals Aquarium & Nature Center (Florence)
Dauphin Island Sea Lab: Estuarium (Dauphin Island)
McWane Science Center (Birmingham)

Alaska (1)
Alaska SeaLife Center (Seward)

Arizona (3)
Dolphinaris Arizona (Scottsdale)
OdySea Aquarium (Scottsdale)
**Sea Life Arizona (Tempe)

Arkansas (1)
**National Park Aquarium (Hot Springs)

California (23)
**Aquarium of the Bay (San Francisco)
**Aquarium of the Pacific (Long Beach)
**Birch Aquarium (San Diego)
**Cabrillo Marine Aquarium (San Pedro)
**California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco) - Steinhart Aquarium
**California Science Center (Los Angeles)
**Central Coast Aquarium (Avila Beach)
**Doheny State Beach Interpret. Center & Aquarium (Dana Point)
**Living Coast Discovery Center (Chula Vista)
**Marine Mammal Care Center (San Pedro)
**Marine Mammal Center (Sausalito)
**Monterey Bay Aquarium (Monterey)
**Morro Bay Aquarium (Morro Bay)
**Northcoast Marine Mammal Center (Crescent City)
**Ocean Institute (Dana Point)
**Ocean World (Crescent City)
**Pacific Marine Mammal Center (Laguna Beach)
**Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab & Aquarium (Manhattan Beach)
**Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center (Santa Barbara)
**Santa Monica Pier Aquarium (Santa Monica)
**Sea Life Carlsbad (Carlsbad)
**SeaWorld San Diego (San Diego)
**Seymour Marine Discovery Center (Santa Cruz)

Colorado (1)
**Downtown Aquarium Denver (Denver)

Connecticut (2)
**Maritime Aquarium (Norwalk)
**Mystic Aquarium (Mystic)

Florida (30)
Aquatica Orlando (Orlando)
Clearwater Marine Aquarium (Clearwater)
Discovery Cove (Orlando)
Dolphin Connection (Duck Key)
Dolphin Research Center (Grassy Key)
Dolphins Plus (Key Largo)
**Florida Aquarium (Tampa)
Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters (Marathon)
Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center (Stuart)
Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park (Fort Walton Beach)
Gulf Specimen Marine Lab (Panacea)
Gulf World Marine Park (Panama City Beach)
Imaginarium Science Center (Fort Myers)
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park Visitor Center (Key Largo)
Key West Aquarium (Key West)
Loggerhead Marinelife Center (Juno Beach)
Marineland Dolphin Adventure (St. Augustine)
Marine Science Center (Ponce Inlet)
Miami Seaquarium (Miami)
Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium (Sarasota)
Museum of Science (Miami)
River Center (Jupiter)
Sea Life Orlando (Orlando)
SeaWorld Orlando (Orlando)
South Florida Museum: Parker Manatee Aquarium (Bradenton)
St. Augustine Aquarium (St. Augustine)
St. Lucie County Aquarium (Fort Pierce)
Tarpon Springs Aquarium (Tarpon Springs)
Theater of the Sea (Islamorada)
The Seas with Nemo & Friends (Epcot at Lake Buena Vista)

Georgia (4)
Flint RiverQuarium (Albany)
**Georgia Aquarium (Atlanta)
Georgia Sea Turtle Center (Jekyll Island)
UGA Marine Education Center & Aquarium (Savannah)

Hawaii (3)
Maui Ocean Center (Wailuku)
Sea Life Park Hawaii (Waimanalo)
Waikiki Aquarium (Honolulu)

Idaho (2)
**Aquarium of Boise (Boise)
East Idaho Aquarium (Idaho Falls)

Illinois (1)
**John G. Shedd Aquarium (Chicago)

Iowa (1)
**National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium (Dubuque)

Kansas (1)
**Kansas Fishes Aquarium (Salina)

Kentucky (1)
**Newport Aquarium (Newport)

Louisiana (2)
**Audubon Aquarium of the Americas (New Orleans)
Shreveport Aquarium (Shreveport)

Maine (2)
Maine State Aquarium (West Boothbay Harbor)
Mount Desert Oceanarium (Bar Harbor)

Maryland (1)
**National Aquarium (Baltimore)

Massachusetts (4)
Maria Mitchell Aquarium (Nantucket)
National Marine Life Center (Buzzards Bay)
**New England Aquarium (Boston)
Woods Hole Science Aquarium (Woods Hole)

Michigan (2)
Belle Isle Aquarium (Detroit)
Sea Life Michigan (Auburn Hills)

Minnesota (2)
**Great Lakes Aquarium (Duluth)
**Sea Life Minnesota (Bloomington)

Missouri (3)
Sea Life Kansas City (Kansas City)
Wonders of Wildlife (Springfield)
**World Aquarium (St. Louis)

Nebraska (1)
**Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium (Gretna)

Nevada (2)
SeaQuest Interactive Aquarium (Las Vegas)
**Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay (Las Vegas)

New Hampshire (1)
Seacoast Science Center (Rye)

New Jersey (5)
**Adventure Aquarium (Camden)
Atlantic City Aquarium (Atlantic City)
**Jenkinson’s Aquarium (Point Pleasant Beach)
Marine Mammal Stranding Center (Brigantine)
Sea Life Meadowlands (Meadowlands)

New Mexico (1)
**Albuquerque Aquarium (Albuquerque)

New York (6)
Aquarium of Niagara (Niagara Falls)
Aquazoo Aquarium (Alexandria Bay)
Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery & Aquarium (Cold Spring Harbor)
**Long Island Aquarium (Riverhead)
**New York Aquarium (Brooklyn)
Via Aquarium (Rotterdam)

North Carolina (5)
Discovery Place (Charlotte)
**North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher (Kure Beach)
**North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores (Pine Knoll Shores)
**North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island (Manteo)
Sea Life Charlotte-Concord (Concord-Charlotte)

North Dakota (1)
**Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery & Aquarium (Riverdale)

Ohio (1)
**Greater Cleveland Aquarium (Cleveland)

Oklahoma (1)
**Oklahoma Aquarium (Jenks)

Oregon (4)
**Hatfield Marine Science Center (Newport)
**Oregon Coast Aquarium (Newport)
**Oregon Undersea Gardens (Newport)
**Seaside Aquarium (Seaside)

Rhode Island (2)
Exploration Center & Aquarium: Easton’s Beach (Newport)
Exploration Center & Aquarium: South Coast Center (Westerly)

South Carolina (2)
**Ripley’s Aquarium at Myrtle Beach (Myrtle Beach)
South Carolina Aquarium (Charleston)

South Dakota (1)
Sertoma Butterfly House & Marine Cove (Sioux Falls)

Tennessee (3)
Aquarium Restaurant (Nashville)
Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies (Gatlinburg)
**Tennessee Aquarium (Chattanooga)

Texas (13)
Aquarium at Rockport Harbor (Rockport)
**Aquarium Restaurant (Kemah)
**Aquatica San Antonio (San Antonio)
**Austin Aquarium (Austin)
**Children’s Aquarium at Fair Park (Dallas)
**Dallas World Aquarium (Dallas)
**Downtown Aquarium Houston (Houston)
**Moody Gardens (Galveston)
**San Antonio Aquarium (San Antonio)
**Sea Life Grapevine (Grapevine)
SeaQuest Interactive Aquarium (Fort Worth)
**SeaWorld San Antonio (San Antonio)
**Texas State Aquarium (Corpus Christi)

Utah (2)
**Loveland Living Planet Aquarium (Draper)
SeaQuest Interactive Aquarium (Layton)

Vermont (1)
ECHO Lake Aquarium & Science Center (Burlington)

Virginia (1)
**Virginia Aquarium (Virginia Beach)

Washington (1)
**Seattle Aquarium (Seattle)

Wisconsin (2)
Beaver Springs Park Aquarium (Wisconsin Dells)
Discovery World: Reiman Aquarium (Milwaukee)

** I've visited 75 of the aquariums on this list. I've technically visited 77 American aquariums but two of them have since closed down. (Portland Aquarium and National Aquarium in Washington, D.C.)
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Sea Life Meadowlands hasn't opened yet tho...
 
SeaQuest in Fort Lauderdale has still not opened, here is an article about it being approved:

SeaQuest Aquarium gets approvals to open at Galleria mall | Preston Business Review

SeaQuest website says it will open in Late 2019.

But wait, there's more! Their website lists two other future locations:

Roseville, Minnesota (which is closer to the downtowns of Minneapolis and St. Paul than the existing SeaLife Minnesota)

Trumbull, Connecticut (which is adjacent to Bridgeport)
 
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