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    Great Lakes Aquarium

    3.7 (70 reviews)
    Closed 10:00 am - 6:00 pm

    Great Lakes Aquarium Photos

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    Charlie L.

    Whenever visiting MN someplace different to go. This time it was a Great Lakes Aquarium. It did not disappoint! A perfect place to visit if you have an hour to two hours to spend. It has a great exhibit with helpful and friendly staff. Very educational. I learned a lot about the lakes and it was fascinating. If you're visiting Duluth, whether you're from out of state or from within, it's well worth the visit.

    Jeremy R.

    As the world moves on from Covid it is kind of hard to know what to expect from anywhere including museums and touristy areas such as the Great Lakes Aquarium. There were several areas around exhibits where it looked like staff members would sit and be able to provide information or answer questions, which was now instead manned by a white board saying to text a number for information. Which I didn't want to bother with, I would've rather talked with a person face to face. It was also easy to see that they seemed short staffed. At one of the touch pools the gentleman taking over seemed very rushed to get there in time to make sure it was "manned". Hopefully I'll make it back some day outside of our pandemic Era. It was super cool to see the amount of sturgeon that they had, and being a big aquarist it was nice to see the variety of freshwater fish that they had from different parts of the world. The saltwater tanks were pretty neat, also. My girlfriend said that the shipwreck portion was her favorite. It was a cool thing to do for two adults to wander around for an hour or better on our day off.

    Otter
    Michelle A.

    A day/night in Duluth and its cold outside. The aquarium wasn't far from Northern Waters Smokehaus. $5 to park. There are fresh water fish, baby alligators and my favorite otters. The otters supposedly sleep 20 hours a day but the volunteer said they would be out around 3 for feeding. These 2 came from a crayfish farm and are 9 years old. They are fun to watch swimming. Diving and eating. I liked otters so much I bought 2 stuffed animal otters. Enjoy the pictures.

    Brandy G.

    We had a wonderful time at the aquarium! There is so much to see and play areas our kids loved. I think our favorite thing was touching the jellyfish and the starfish. It is a great place to spend a fun day with your family.

    Lauren R.

    My family really enjoyed the aquarium. Lots of great information, species local to the great lake area, sprinkled with some exotic ones too. They offered 3 touch tanks, horseshoe crab/starfish, sturgeons, and jelly fish which was my family's favorite. The help with each tank were so nice and help full they make the experience great. Also if you buy passes they are good all day. So if your kiddos miss a touch tank opening you can always go back later. Parking cost $5 but they also gave us a coupon for $5 off in the gift shop. Would recommend super little kid friendly too.

    Checking out the coral reef
    Gabby G.

    A great indoor activity for the whole family. Lots of different exhibits and underwater creatures as well as a few raptors to check out we love the space between exhibits, the views of the harbor from each floor and the helpful staff always willing to give you more information either in person or over text.

    Garrett Z.

    I'm not going to lie, I came to this place with low expectations. As a kid, I remember coming to the grand opening of this place and being completely disappointed. Half the aquarium seemed to be devoted to the wonders of water (yawn) and there was not much more than lake fish. When I think of aquarium, I was thinking sharks, stingrays, and colorful reef fish. So lets get that out of the way first, this place is not your typical aquarium. It is more of a local aquarium that highlights the species and diversity in nearby Lake Superior. Yes, there is a room with sharks, rays, and colorful reef fish still but it is not the main focus of the place. And that is OK! A lot has been added since I was last here. There is a really cool petting tank but instead of sharks or rays, there are sturgeon! There is also a huge tank filled with trout, game fish, sturgeon, and other lake fish. There is also a super intelligent crow and river otters. I also liked that there seemed to be a large population of animals that were albino, have you ever seen an albino painted turtle? So cool.The other shoutout is that they display a few Nautilus here. I can't think of another aquarium that has displayed these cephalopods. Very cool. The building is also a very beautiful building with some really cool aesthetic features including a water wall, a water play place for kids (and adults, lets be honest), and an indoor playground. There is also a nice deck off the back of the building to watch the lift bridge and lakers (ships) come in and out of port.

    Staff feeding fish at one of the tanks
    Mathea B.

    The aquarium is something for people of all ages, and just that was noticeable as I walked through the exhibits. There were families with babies, young children, and teenagers. I saw young couples walking together exploiting the tanks. I also saw an elderly couple enjoying some of the exhibits. The aquarium is truly a place for all people. The location for this aquarium is definitely a bonus with the view of the bay and the lift bridge from many east facing windows. The variety of fish with the history involved was fascinating. I enjoyed how the Great Lakes Aquarium used their name throughout the exhibits, focusing mostly on the local fish that appear in rivers, lakes, and of course Lake Superior. The aquarium also included different areas that were outside the Great Lakes title, but were just as fascinating to learn about. I definitely thought the highlight of the aquarium was the staff lectures. Scheduled times during the week are feeding times for the fish where staff will feed from their hands or volunteers will dive into the tanks to feed the fish. During this time, staff will explain more about the fish and answer questions from guests. The divers were also very entertaining and were up for taking photos, dancing, and playing rock, paper, scissors! You must plan your visit around one of these feeding times to make the most of your time at the aquarium. The only negative is I wish the aquarium was a bit bigger, but I suppose there's not much more space for them to use. Good work Great Lakes Aquarium!

    Sue S.

    We have been to the Great Lakes Aquarium twice now and remain fans. Maybe we're spoiled, but we do feel it's on the small side as far as aquariums go. It is definitely not the size of the aquariums we've been to in large cities. But that said, we really do like this aquarium for its unique view on aquatic life in the Great Lakes. There are some really cool exhibits about the forming of the Great Lakes region and the history of the area. It's a great place to visit to learn something you didn't know. We always learn something new about Lake Superior, and it's a really cool place to learn about the fish of the Great Lakes. Among our highlights: -the aviary, which includes a bald eagle if you are lucky enough to find him out and about -the exhibit about the glacial activity that formed the area. -truly awesome view of the bridge. -the really awesome interactive display on the first floor that shows the Great Lakes in relation to each other -- it overlays the cities and towns, geographical points of interest on the lakes and even puts them in relation to each other in terms of size and elevation. It teaches about hydroelectric power, locks and other cool features of the Great Lakes. It's really cool and is great for kids (and kids at heart). We will say that at $16.50 for adults, it's a bit on the steep side. It takes us about an hour to get through the whole thing. But we do feel that paying the admission supports an important cause. The gift shop is a fun shop, particularly the local art. It's a fun place to visit for sure, but not an all-day excursion like some aquariums.

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    2 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Had a poor experience at the gift shop they refused to make right. We are long time family membership holders.

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    11 months ago

    Really interesting and the otters were adorable. Hands on attractions for the kids and interesting exhibits for everyone.

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    2 years ago

    Cool fishies. Watery ambience. I saw divers and that was sick. Come here with your friends its fun

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    6 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Kind of small but the price is reasonable. There's more than aquatic life inside like eagles and skunks. Good for families.

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    Ask the Community - Great Lakes Aquarium

    Average time there to go through aquarium?

    Hi, Steven! This question typically depends on the ages in your group and how likely you are to read the exhibit signage. However, we recommend you set aside about an hour and a half to visit. Our best tip is to visit either around the 11am hour or… Read more

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    Review Highlights - Great Lakes Aquarium

    Lots of highlights for me, but I especially loved the sturgeon feeding with naturalist in the poplin waders.

    Mentioned in 9 reviews

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