Go feed the seals. Just do it. Thank me later. Be prepared to get wet. The rest of the aquarium isn't as cool. Very small but fun for little kids. read more

Seaside Aquarium - Aquariums Near Me - Seaside, Oregon

I rarely leave bad reviews for places, but please DO NOT go here. The tanks for the fish are all very small, sparsely decorated with nothing for the fish to do, and nowhere for them to swim. It's really sad to see, they just stare out into the room at nothing. They had an extremely small circular tank with two jellyfish that had water circulating around. It was tangling the jellyfish together and ripping off their tentacles. The pool for the seals is very small for the amount of them, and you can buy and feed the seals, so i'm not sure if they get too much food? or to little? Floors are damp, room is dark, very small. So sad. I was heartbroken for all these little guys when I left. read more

Have you got an hour? Do you have young kids interested in sea life? Are you closer to this aquarium than you are to Monterey Bay? If you've answered these questions with a yes, it's so well worth it. Our grandkids got to feed the seals and touch starfish. Beyond that, they had a number of aquariums that featured a variety of fish, many of which I was totally unfamiliar with. The staff was friendly and nice. There was plenty of parking and you're just a short walk in the downtown area of seaside. We don't need to go again, but we're glad that we did this one time. read more

Seaside Aquarium - Aquariums Near Me - Seaside, Oregon

Wildly expensive for what you get to see. My family was thoroughly disappointed. The place desperately needs a deep clean.

My 3 year old Favorite Place ! You can touch the star fish's and other sea animals you can feed the sea lions ! That's are so funny! And the gentleman behind the starfishes was so nice and friendly to my baby and actually talk to her I'm a way she can understand and learn about the sea animals I loved it ! And he gave us so much fun facts and information about the star fishes that I didn't even know ! I love it it's a small aquarium but it's also a must if you are in the area the guy that helped us in the gift shop was also very nice ! Everyone in this place had amazing customer service ! I'm so glad we came even Though it was pouring rain! lol had an Amazing experience (: read more

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giant pacific octopus as big as it's container. Seals that never see any sunlight. They should donate their animals to the Oregon aquarium in Newport where the conditions are excellent. read more

Now first off don't come here thinking you are going to see some elaborate aquarium with so many unbelievable underwater creatures. Now if you want to laugh like never before and have a serious core memory that will keep you laughing and stories to relive with your partner come here !! Thees seals are worth every penny every dollar you could ever spend! They each have an amazing amount of personality that is hilarious!! Not a single person wasn't smiling or laughing their butts off. The staff is so cool and fun, but I mean a place filled with this much laughter it's hard not to enjoy work. The property has an interesting history to it, so if need a break from driving and want to laugh stop here. read more

I remember coming here as a kid to feed the seals and having a great time! I came back recently to relive that and while I did enjoy seeing the seals and tossing them some fish I could not look past some areas of concern for me. 1. The tank size for the seals. I really hope they have a larger area they go at night or something. The pool they're in for the public feedings in far to small for the amount of seals in there. 2. The fish tanks were small and seemed very lacking of many plants, rocks, sand, coral, anything! The animals need more. 3. Many of the animals were not moving and yes I understand some do not move as much during certain times of the day or because of the kind of they are but for goodness sakes many seemed just lifeless and it just didnt seem right. Overall it felt almost like a pet store and less like an aquarium. Just made me a little sad. read more

BEST DEAL in SEASIDE!!!!! 5 STARS This place is a must. Every time I'm in town, I make it a point to come visit this place. The people that work here are the nicest people around. This is a Seaside staple. Thank you guys. read more

Seaside Aquarium - My French bulldog, Lulu saying hi to some of her relatives. - Aquariums Near Me - Seaside, Oregon

Living situation for their animals are horrible. The most notable though is the seals. Think about it, you walk into a small building, where do all those seals fit? Even if they have a 2nd floor for them is it really an appropriate size? They have been questioned about this many many times throughout decades but never have been willing to show the public, but if it's a good living situation then why not? 11 in that tiny little building. In Oregon the state standards are very minimal compared to most other states in the US on what it takes to have and keep licenses for these organizations. The wildlife game safari (NOT Winston, they are great but the one on the coast) was licensed by the state and we saw how those animals came out, so sick a few had to be put down! We need to demand better for our animals. I'm not a crazy peta person or anything extreme but I am one that cares enough to question something as crazy ass 11 seals in one tiny building. read more

My 14 and 10 year old daughters loved feeding the seals. The seals are hilarious and are adorable. The rest of the aquarium isn't like Newport, very small. But it's worth feeding the seals and getting pressed pennies from the store. A great experience, and of course we will be back to see the seals. read more

This aquarium is small, but it's great for children. They have some good exhibits, like feeding the seals for a small fee. read more

My boyfriend and I made a stop in seaside to visit the Aquarium and it's was a fun side quest for sure. The staff was super friendly and on it, we spent $2 to get fish to feed the seals. That was the highlight for sure. They have a great display of PNW fish and a fun coloring activity at the end. Nice gift shop. This place would be GREAT for littles. Anytime we are in seaside we always stop in for a nice visit. Thanks! read more

If you lower your expectations of what you imagine an aquarium is and love to feed seals, this is the place for you. The workers were all very friendly and they have a small giftshop as you enter to buy your tickets. As you enter, you'll purchase tickets (which you'll need even if you all you want to do is feed the seals). The ticket will gain you entry into the aquarium area which is essentially one large room with tanks of various fish and sea life. It's not big and you'll probably be done in about 15 to 30 minutes. There is a small hands on tank and children's activity (coloring) table and they have a hand washing station. No restrooms though. The highlight was getting to feed the seals. You can buy trays of fish ($2 tray, which comes with about 6 pieces of fish). Depending on how raucous the seals are, you may get splashed with water. read more

So cute and got to feed the seals! The seals were great and there are tons of neat creatures there. read more

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The overall aquarium was alright, but not something to be excited for. The pricing for the aquarium was amazing, but I probably think this because I paid for one child and one adult, which the total came out to be $15.50. However the price should tell something I didn't see unfortunately. The aquarium has not many exhibits and it's the smallest one I've ever seen. Unfortunately the exhibits they did have was equalavient to an average pet store. There was only fish and some other sea animals, yet it was disappointing how little there was to see. Although, there was two touch exhibits where you could touch star fish in one, and I think some sort of sea urchin if I'm not mistaken. After we were done with the exhibitions we went on we to feed some seals, thought most of them were full and didn't care too much for the food. The seals were cute, however I have an extreme concern including the male seals. They've put WAY too many males with eachother and it's dangerous. There is constant fighting and it's getting out of hand, it's all the seals will do. There are atleast 3 male seals with exposed raw skin on their neck. It's very sad, and I hope the aquarium owner could find it in their heart to separate them. Lastly, there was a gift shop, very small as-well but had nice things, I got a treasure chest and a beautiful shell. Don't go to the gift shop if you aren't ready to pay for a huge amount though, everything in there is incredibly overpriced!! read more

Seaside Aquarium - Aquariums Near Me - Seaside, Oregon

This was a fun little aquarium in Seaside, Oregon! The exhibits: There's quite a few aquarium exhibits, though not as many as other modern aquariums. This is a small place, maybe 30 or 40 exhibits overall, possibly less. They have a seal exhibit where you can buy fish to throw to the seals and watch their antics. They also have a little petting zoo sort of aquarium setup - not for the seals, but just for hermit crabs, sea urchins, star fishes, etc. The staff: The staff were very kind and helpful. They answered any and all questions I had and were overall very kind. The environment: There's no internet at the aquarium, however, so that's just good to know. It's a little darker in the building than you would expect and pretty cold. They also have a gift shop! It's a nice aquarium to spend an hour or two of your afternoon. Final thoughts: It's not a lot of exhibits, so it only takes maybe an hour or so to go through the aquarium if you're also reading the explanatory signs next to the aquariums. read more

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We went two years ago and the experience was wonderful. This time not so much. Unfortunately people don't tend to " parent" their children much these days so kids slamming into you with strollers, running wild, banging on the glass etc can ruin the experience. The place was so crowded you couldn't see much and my anxiety and claustrophobia came out in full swing. If they limited the ticket sales and gave everyone a time limit it would be much more enjoyable. I suggest limiting it to half the people. Several people walked out almost immediately after paying and let one parent go ahead with all their kids because of the noise, crowds, and chaos. An aquarium should never feel like chucky cheese. read more

This was the most distressing experience I've ever had at an aquarium - you'll never convince me that these poor creatures have any kind of quality of life here. I only came here in search of their barnacle exhibit for some research I was doing - even the barnacles - one of the hardiest creatures on earth - looked absolutely miserable! Even The Dodo investigated them and felt the same way and wrote an article about it some years ago: https://www.thedodo.com/amphtml/close-to-home/seals-inside-tiny-tank-seaside-aquarium-oregon The tanks are tiny - and utterly void and empty of any kind of natural stimulus for their captives. Particularly concerning were the seals, octopi, and "touching pools". Octopi are extremely intelligent creatures and require a lot of care and organic stimuli - they have two here in bare tanks. One of them is in an exposed tank constantly being heckled by unruly kids - the other is in a tiny box of a tank. I've never seen an octopus so pale and miserable before as I did here. The "touching pools" are abysmally small and full of dingy nasty water bc hordes of people are constantly playing in the water while being "observed" by staff who couldn't care less - and seemed miserable themselves. But the seals were the hardest to see. They have a large group of captive harbor seals in the tiniest caged pool I've ever seen - they have NO ROOM to swim or dive or play. And they allow tourists to feed them unregulated and unsupervised!! How can that be a good thing?? You can't just feed seals an endless amount of fish?!!! And not even give them enough room to exercise in?!! It absolutely BLOWS MY MIND that this place is allowed to keep animals like this. Apparently nothing can be done legally bc they're working within the government guidelines - this is just shameful. I understand that this aquarium is historic and old - and they go to great lengths to make excuses for the conditions they're keeping these animals in but it's appalling and INEXCUSABLE! As full of "activists" as Oregon is, I'm absolutely baffled no one has tried to do anything about this. I highly recommend to avoid this place at all costs - DON'T give them your money. read more

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This is a really small aquarium but it was fun to visit. Being able to feed the seals is fun but sometimes they get a little aggressive and splash you with water. If you're in the area, it's a fun place to go with kids read more

They changed the rule so that you have to buy admission to the museum in order to feed the seals, although the museum isn't worth how much it is to get in. it's very small with not much there, and most people went there just for the seals. read more

We had the best time ever! This place is a hidden gem. Highly recommended if you're in seaside area. We learned so much about marine life. Free parking and dog friendly too. read more

Just don't come here. You'll just walk away disturbed. It reminds me more of a seafood market than an aquarium. I hope they stop breeding and hoarding seals and focus more on conservation and sustainability efforts. My daughter walked away worried about the animals. All of us hated the noise. Just walk past this people. read more

As an Oregon native I've walked on the promenade in Seaside many times and but never checked out the Seaside Aquarium. When you walk in the first thing you see is a small tank with several sea lions that you can pay to feed. It was fun to see them up close it was also depressing that they were so crowded and confined. Evidently there is a larger tank for them out of public view. I hope so! Inside there was a room lined with displays of fish and other sea creatures. The Aquarium is housed in a very old building that many years ago was a sea water swimming pool. The whole place looked out of date and depressing. It was also expensive for the 45 minutes we spent there. We probably won't be back. read more

Small but mighty. Didn't love the tiny pool the otters live in but love they're dog friendly. Our Great Dane was the biggest attraction that day as he was absolutely tickled meeting all the fish. Worth the $10. Great option to have some fun on a rainy day. read more

Seaside Aquarium - Seals - Aquariums Near Me - Seaside, Oregon

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Took my family here late June 2023, all adults, did the $34 family entry. We all really enjoyed it, particularly if you take the time to READ all the informative data presented at each aquarium. LEARNED alot of things! Of course the seals are extremely entertaining. But I couldve spent even longer looking/reading about the many other local sealife here. The giant pacific octopus was mesmerizing. The info about skate-pods was fascinating. Staff was helpful and knowledgeable. Dont forget to look at the enormous whale skeleton on display on the outside. Very small parking lot. read more

The main reason to go to this aquarium is to feed the Seals. Otherwise it's a tiny little museum that you can walk through in 10 mins. I appreciated being able to feed the seals for the price but to be honest it's a little depressing to see them in a teeny tiny swimming area begging the visitors for food. Honestly, I shouldn't have expected anything else but it was still awkward to experience. There is also a little touch pool in the middle where you can touch starfish and sea anemones. read more

I regret taking my family here. It's been a week and the sadness is still lingering. I should have researched more, but I read they had seals and it's my daughter's absolute favorite animal. At first she was delighted to see them so close up, but she started questioning the enclosure and living conditions. They have so many seals crammed into a dirty viewing tank, they have a sign indicating that they have access to a much larger area "in the back" but that they prefer the tiny dirty viewing area. I would like to see proof of this as I am beyond skeptical this is even true. The rest of the aquarium is dark and dingy with small sparse tanks and listless looking creatures. Never again. read more

Small aquarium on the beach. Other than the seals there isn't much to see. It's fun to feed the seals but everything else in the tanks is kinda the same. Pricing wise for why you get I don't think they should be charging more than $8 for adults. read more

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Great experience! Thanks for allowing dogs my dog loves it there. Amazing staff thanks for being dedicated to the animals.

Poor animal care: like it says animals are kept in bad habitats such as a very intelligent octopus being kept in a barren and small glass box with no enrichment or things to play with. The kids play/learning area is very dirty and rundown. Just not a great place. You will have a much better experience with sea life by visiting places like Haystack Rock. There you get to see ocean animals in person in the wild, plus you get great information from the local Haystack guides! Also visiting Haystack Rock is free! read more

Honestly had a great experience here. Got recommended to go here from the Seaside Visitor Center. Their brochures have a free ticket for feeding the otters. The aquarium itself is quite small - it can be walked through in 15-60 minutes but it was fun. I actually thought the signs above the tanks made it very easy to identify the species of the animals. I liked their interactive tank too with lots of hermit crabs and starfish to touch. Feeding the seals was super fun. And the feed is only $2 but is a worth it experience. The seals get so excited to eat the pieces of fish. read more

Seaside Aquarium - Aquariums Near Me - Seaside, Oregon

This place is so intensely sad. Every single one of the animals is housed in adequately. The pen for the seals isn't even big enough for one of them let alone all of them. This place seriously needs to be shut down. read more

It's a quaint place to visit. People are friendly and you get to see some local sea life. Also, take the opportunity to feed the seals for an extra $4.00, they have such different personalities! We had a great time there read more

SeaWorld, it ain't. I have no idea what goes on behind the scenes here, and whether the adorable seals have a larger habitat elsewhere within. I certainly hope so. They're certainly the stars of the show here, along with a giant octopus in a tank shallow enough to let him reach out and grab you (man, I would pay extra admission to see him grab one of the annoying kids running around)! The whole place feels like it could use a good scrubbing. There are some tanks with touchable critters (starfish and hermit crabs), a few dioramas of skeletal sea creatures, and the aforementioned octopus "pit" (seriously, can I drop one of the kids in there? PLLLLEEEAAAASSSSEEE?!); the rest of the aquarium is made of tanks embedded in the wall, with assorted ocean fauna swimming and scuttling about. Some of the tanks appear to be leaking from the top, likely due to a bad seal (no, not the ones out front!). There is some entertainment value here, particularly for young kids, and feeding the seals is fun, particularly when they're slapping their bellies, asking for more, but the whole place feels a little...sad. I really hope the seals are happy! read more

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So sad. Multiple seals in tiny enclosure, incredibly overstimulating. Then going inside all of the fish tanks are small with multiple fish not even moving inside of them. There is a larger fish (maybe shark?) in the middle of a VERY shallow enclosure. In the dark. There are no windows, no sunlight, nothing except the overhead lights. How is that natural or healthy? read more

We loved our visit to this small aquarium...feeding the seals, viewing tanks full or local sea life, and watching the octopus swimming in the small pool. We did get there right at opening (9 am), so it was still relatively empty when we viewed the establishment. The seals know what they want, and work the crowd with their purposeful water slaps to get the fish bits (you can buy a tray of fish to feed them). There are small tanks inside, full of fish, urchins, octopus, and more...and there's and open tank with an octopus and several star fish. The open tank mesmerized my son and me...we could have stood there all day. I hadn't read any of the reviews prior to visiting, and while I wondered about whether there was enough coverage for an antisocial octopus to hide, it was hard to know if he/she was happy or unhappy (it had a few color ranges of red (aggressive) to pale (passive)). I do think that if there has been animal/creature mistreatment, this establishment would not have been in business for as long as it has been. All in all, this was a nice way to start our morning at Seaside, with informative plaques, social and antisocial sea creatures, and friendly staff. read more

The main attraction is the harbor seals at the front which is fine, but the rest of the "aquarium" is old and needs remodeling, while it was cool seeing starfish, and Dungeness crabs the place was very depressing. read more

Not bad, not bad. Not much, if anything at all, has changed since our last visit in August. The seals still clap for snacks and splash you with water if you don't. The young people who work in the touch pool area still seem mostly uninterested in the kids who gleefully poke at the creatures living under water. I think the entry fee is pretty fair and if you take your time, you can squeeze a good 45 mins out of the trip. It's a bit dark and gloomy, some of the tanks could use TLC but overall I think it's a good stop if you are visiting Seaside. I can't attest to the treatment of the animals, of course, but for what it's worth, my little family enjoys visiting this aquarium. P.S. the gift shop has pretty cool random stuff like ghost stories about Oregon and hand blown glass ornaments that have almost nothing to do with the aquarium or it's residents. Bring money! Your kids will want to buy things that are undoubtedly overpriced as all gift shops items are. read more

Seaside Aquarium - Aquariums Near Me - Seaside, Oregon

Although the aquarium is quite small, it has a certain charm to it. It's not a place for all people to enjoy, but there are enough cool fish to look at. The main attraction here is definitely the seals. Boy was it a lot of fun to watch and feed them. Some of em would slap their bellys while others would slap the water splashing you. This signaled that they wanted the food in your cup. We often times forget how smart animals can be and they certainly knew what they were doing. In the small aquarium room, there were several different fish tanks to look through. There were even several creatures I had never seen or heard of before. I also liked that they had two open tanks where you could touch some of the sea life. Again, this is not a place for everyone. It's not the grandest aquarium out there, but it does have its charm. read more

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