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Brooklyn, NY

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New York Aquarium

2.9 (594 reviews)
Open • 10:00 am - 4:30 pm

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Ana C.

I had a great time, but was a little underwhelmed. The aqua theater, touch tank, rooftop area, otter exhibit, and part of the first indoor aquarium building were closed, and I wasn't able to find that out on their website beforehand. The penguin and seal feeding was amazing to see. The staff clearly cares a lot about the animals they work with. Something I appreciated was that the staff was very stern with children climbing over the fence during feeding and didn't let anything potentially dangerous slide.

Amanda K.

Visitor rating: 4/5 | Local rating: 3/5 As a visitor, I really enjoyed this aquarium! I hadn't been in years, and it was great to see all the updates and changes. During my visit, I saw jellyfish, sea lions, seals, otters, penguins, fish, and sharks. There's plenty to see both indoors and outdoors. The aquarium also does a sea lion show twice a day, and there's a new sea tunnel where sharks and other sea life swim all around you--it's really cool! After your visit, you can walk along the boardwalk and explore the nearby area. I rated it lower as a local (3/5) because if the exhibits don't change often, it can feel a bit repetitive and less worth the price. Overall, a fun visit--I'll definitely be back. Check out the aquarium today!

Bernice N.

Just a fun place to visit for all ages. So many different species from the ocean, they really have made this place entertaining for school trips or family fun. The gift shops are really nice and affordable. A nice area for having lunch, bringing your own or purchasing snacks from the truck located on the premises. If not, it is located in Coney Island so you can find something. I wouldn't mind coming back with my teens and adult daughter. I'll give a thumb up and Happy Yelping!

Alisa J.

The only aquarium in nyc. Was super busy and you don't really want to spend too much time in each place, but it was still super cool and I enjoyed everything I saw. Ticket is kind of expensive. Right next to Coney Island and the subway. Would definitely recommend if you want to do something less touristy.

November 11, 2025.
Matteo R.

Not sure why the New York Aquarium[1] has only 3 stars on Yelp, but I recently took my family there during a school break and we had a fantastic time. I had been to the New York Aquarium previously, but that was a long time ago, before the renovations following the devastation of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and before the "Sharks!" tank and exhibit hall was built. At the time the aquarium was rather sad; I remember some of the tanks only had tiles on the floor. Well, I was pleasantly surprised as the aquarium is now pure awesomeness! All the different exhibits are really great. The "Ocean Wonders: Sharks!" exhibit is amazing, with a massive tank that hosts a lot of amazing creatures, not just sharks. The tunnel is great, and it has a smaller tunnel on the side which is great fun for kids. The Conservation Hall, the Spineless exhibit, and the PlayQuarium are all great. In the PlayQuarium kids have the chance to gently pet horseshoe crabs while learning about marine conservation. They let people in by family rather than by number, which is smart. The Sea Change exhibit tells the story of our changing climate and the effect it has on marine ecosystems and ocean life. The outdoor Sea Cliffs exhibit features sea lions, harbor seals, otters, and penguins. We also enjoyed the Sea Lion Celebration[2], which takes place outdoors in the Aquatheater. The MC was funny, the sea lions were awesome. The show is only 15 minutes, which is enough in my opinion, and it featured two sea lions and one harbor seal. The star of the show was Pickles the harbor seal! I was also pleasantly surprised by the cafeteria, which offered plenty of options and seating space both indoors and outdoors. The sandwich plus soup for $10 is a great deal. I also like that the aquarium offers many programs including school break camps, field trips, birthday parties, and even "Sharks After Dark" overnight sleepovers by the massive shark tank for families or groups. Also, reduced admission tickets are available on Wednesday afternoons--you can book them at 3pm the Monday before. If you live in Brooklyn, you may want to consider becoming a member. Membership will give you one year of admission to the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, and the NY Aquarium. The Family Aquarium membership (2 adults, 4 children) is $165, and it pays for itself in just 2 visits for a family of 3. ----------------------------------- [1] The oldest continually operating aquarium in the United States. It was founded in Battery Park in Manhattan in 1896 and it moved to Coney Island in Brooklyn in 1957. [2] It takes place 3 times a day: 11am, 1:30pm, and 3:30pm.

Nancy A.

Haven't been to this aquarium since I was in public school before college days. I remember eating school lunch in the aquarium with my classmates and that was pretty much it. I did not remember anything at all about this aquarium. Now that I returned back for the first time, everything is so new to me like I was in school. It felt like a school field trip with the teachers. Very boring. I did not read any of the descriptions of any fish because who remembers all those species? I only remember sharks, jellyfish, and piranha. I don't know the other names of those fish but they were colorful and different in size. Some of them had Frankenstein heads! The piranha stood out and had very red eyes. They did not move at all and were all next to each other. Really cool! Also I saw the sea lions but they were mostly hiding in the water so it was hard to get pictures unless I'm recording the water the whole time. So all in all this aquarium was just very small and it took me literally 2 hours to finish the whole aquarium. Then I saw some reviews and pictures and realized I missed out on the jellyfish. I guess next time.

Conservation Hall gallery
A. K.

We visited the New York Aquarium on Jun 26, 2025 as part of the Road Scholar's "American Mosaic - An NYC Exploration" program. Tickets were provided by our tour group. Parking isn't free, or cheap. We didn't have to worry about that since we took the subway. We started at Glover's Reef and slowly moved through Conservation Hall. By "we", I meant me. There was a lot of people, and they kept walking into my shots. That meant waiting and more waiting, but it was worth it. From Conservation Hall, I exited to an outdoor area known as Sea Cliff. This area housed the otters, sea lions and penguins. More on Sea Cliff later. I approached the Ocean Wonders: Sharks! building, went in, and was immediately greeted by the wonderful underwater glass tunnel. This was easily the most impressive gallery in the aquarium. Multitudes of marine creatures were swimming over my head with every step I took. It was breathtaking. The rest of Ocean Wonders was all about sharks... mostly. There were rays, turtles and other fishes too. Next was the Spineless and PlayQuarium building. The Spineless gallery was not impressive, with the spider crabs and the octopus being the only standouts. No sturgeons. The collection of fishes wasn't as impressive as Ocean Wonders or Conservation Hall. We bypassed the PlayQuarium and into the gift shop. Last but not least, the sea lions. They were adorable. I took some videos but am unable to post them here. They can be found in my YouTube channel @1Somber. Look for "2025-1: American Mosaic - An NYC Exploration" playlist, and the "Day 5: Sea Lions" video. Thankfully, we didn't have to pay for our tickets. If we had, I would insist on visiting the 4-D Theater and the Aquatheater. But we did not due to lack of time. We were given less than 2 hours and the time was almost up when we were done with the main exhibits. The New York Aquarium is definitely comparable with the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA. The visit was enjoyable. It's worth visiting one time.

Carmen L.

The New York Aquarium right next to Coney Island ! This is another attraction that you can't miss. It's good to drop by after a hot day outside. Check in was a breeze they scan your qr code if you purchase tickets online and if you didn't you can put has it outside the entrance. Lots of different aquatic animals to see. The big ones are the sea lions and sharks. They have a live sea lions show look for the hours. You are seated outside, there are no shades to cover you so make sure to make your sunglasses or cap. Sharks and jellyfish are also a hit ! There are also live performances to kids on shark superhero, I thought that was pretty awesome. You can probably spend half a day wondering around the aquarium. Lots of food options outside.

shark
carter

I loved going here! I love sharks, and there was a bunch here to see! I got so many good pictures on my old canon camera and I had a lot of fun doing some of the event tables they had set up! Definitely visit here if you're in the area! Only thing I "didn't like" is that it was a bit smaller than I expected, but it was still so fun and the employees seem so determined to help our planet! Edit: I got two shark plushies here, I put a picture of one of them connected to the review.

Cole D.

Came here for 3 PM free Wednesday. It really lifted my spirits. The jellyfish are mesmerizing. The seals are so fun. They have many impressive creatures like sharks, Japanese crabs, and penguins. Every section has its own building. Some really impressive walls of animals and fish tanks, which was so cool to see.

Stingrays & Nurse Shark
Chun M.

The New York Aquarium is run by the Wildlife Conservation Society, a non-profit that also runs all the zoos in New York City. The aquarium has its origins at Battery Park in 1896 and was relocated to Coney Island, opening in 1957. Most of the original building architecture still looks to be from the mid 1950's. The last time I had been to visit the aquarium was over 20 years ago, when I went as a chaperone for my son's 2nd grade class. Before that, I went with my 3rd grade class! Back then, the teachers could bring entire classes onto the subway for an hour long ride down to Coney Island. I remember buying an inch thick book describing many species of fish and aquatic animals that I pored through, memorizing the descriptions and wondering if I could be a marine biologist one day. It has not changed or expanded very much, with the main building housing most of the marine life, the shark tank building and the sea lion stadium (which used to also be the dolphin stadium). The large tank on the right as you come in from the main entrance used to house the beluga whales and they could be seen from the open top on the 2nd floor. The last of them were eventually moved to the Georgia aquarium for breeding and their tank was converted to a reef tank, which now has a giant 6' green moray eel as a resident, along with a giant puffer fish and other coral reef dwellers. The outside Sea Cliffs exhibits have the harbor seals, sea lions, sea otters and African penguins swimming in their individual areas. There is an entrance by the gift shop that allows you to see them swimming from below the surface. The sea lions love to come right up to the window, nose to nose with the kids. When you come out the other side, you are right next to the entrance to Ocean Wonders: Sharks! There is a water tunnel walking under the smaller sharks and rays, but further on is the giant tank where the larger sandbar and sand tiger sharks patrol over the groupers and stingrays. You might even spot a few of the nurse sharks down at the bottom. There is also the newest exhibit: Spineless, showcasing aquatic invertebrates like jellyfish, sea anemone, cuttlefish, octopus, starfish, spider crabs and a family of sea horses. There is even a rare, 1 in 30 million orange American Lobster. Don't miss the sea lion show at the Aquatheater stadium. There are 3 shows a day starting at 11am. You'll meet the trio of California sea lions: Bruiser, Townsend & Clark (sounds like a law firm), as they go through their training. You might even see the elderly Osborn leisurely cruising around the tank as the young'uns are showing off their moves, jumping in & out of the water and waving to the crowd. Pro-Tip: If you come early on a Sunday morning, all the metered street parking is free along Surf Ave and the side streets. They fill up fast when the rides in Luna Park and restaurants open. We parked right next to the Cyclone roller coaster on W 10th St and walked a block over to the entrance on the boardwalk.

Donna Z.

Booked free Wednesday 3-4pm tickets on Monday at 3pm for free. I haven't been here in a decade and it's definitely a lot better than back then. For a free ticket, it was a great time for me and my friend who was visiting. There was even a seal show at 4pm which was unexpected (sit on the left side if possible). The only con about the free ticket is the first room you start in where the fish are is very busy and cramped and if you can't really go back if you leave it for the end. Otherwise, seeing the sharks, otters (my personal favorite), seals, and penguins were great. We thoroughly enjoyed our time and would definitely come back with the free tickets.

Monica P.

We had a fantastic time at the New York Aquarium! Our 4 year old loved the underwater viewing, spineless exhibit and play area!

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New York Aquarium Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - New York Aquarium

Is there a time limit on how long you can be there?

Now yes 2 hours

Can you bring food into the ny aquarium?

Yes! I bought food and drinks for my kids. There's also a free water refill station which was useful!

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Review Highlights - New York Aquarium

“The main attractions (as I see it) are the Shark building, the Spineless building, and the sea lion show.”

Mentioned in 105 reviews

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My daughter and I visited this zoo this past Wednesday with friends. It took us about an hour to…read moreget the zoo via subway. The zoo was fun and was toddler friendly. They have monkeys, baboons, sand cats, fennec foxes, bats, an aviary, a barn (with sheep, Zebu, Llama, bunnies), emu, peacocks, sea lions and more. It was our first time there and it was nice. I would love to visit again to see the monkeys and watch the peacocks roaming around. Lastly, WCS members get discounts on merchandise. That's awesome!

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This is a huge, sprawling zoo with lots of great exhibits and active animals to see…read more They have several parking lots, so it may be helpful to look at a map in advance and choose the one that's most convenient for you. They use dynamic pricing for tickets. We went on a Saturday around 1pm and tickets were $50 for each adult and parking was $22 per car. Some of the exhibits also have an added charge. So if you don't have a membership, it can add up very quickly. You'll do a ton of walking, so definitely wear comfortable shoes. Most of the paths are paved and it's super stroller friendly. Much of the park is organized by geography. We saw tigers, snow leopards, bison, giraffes, komodo dragons, swans, and a ton more. Though it was busy, the exhibits felt pretty accessible and it was easy to catch a view of the animals without a long wait. They have a few concession areas throughout, but options are pretty limited so I'd eat elsewhere. There's also a carousel, monorail, and shuttle. There's a nice view of the Bronx River on one side with a waterfall. Great for families and kids. You can see everything in one day, but it definitely requires several hours.

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