ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center Review

Fantastic place for kids to play and learn and see a lot of marine life.

Me and my wife are up here for are honey moon and we really enjoyed the experience. I am not sure how acurate the sience is but the animals were fun too look at and for 15 bucks a person it was worth it . Fun for adults as well as kids

My niece had a great time. A lot to do for children here. A bit pricey and the parking situation was frustrating

Small but fun. I have two young kids and they both loved it. An hour was enough for our family.

My 5 and 8 year old boys love it there. Got the membership and it's a great value. Gives you free entrance to other reciprocating museums. If you have kids and are in Burlington it's a must.

Great places to beat the weather in spend time with family. They have rotating exhibitions, and programs for both children and adults. When you're in the champlain valley definitely check it out.

Good effort to create a small kids museum in Vermont for kids. However the effort falls far short when considering the price. There were very few exhibit, and though the staff was very knowledgeable and eager to help there is just not enough to do.
Cafe is also disgustingly overpriced, $8 for a simple premade sandwich?!
Will not return or recommend.

Well, fun but a bit short. Nice play room for children from 1 to 6 years old

Staff was friendly, helpful and engaging. Animal exhibits were small. 3D movie was a tad boring not as engaging for my 4yr old as I anticipated. Champ space was awesome especially the water play. Overall it was worth the two hour trip/adventure.

Lots of hands on and interesting exhibits about the lake

This place was very cool, kids can have fun and learn so much

The butterfly exhibit was unbelievable. Being in the same place with all these beautiful colors and watching them fly. Who knew we had so many butterflies

Pricey, small eco museum that is very family friendly and a great distraction for a few hours. Best for small children.

Great place for kids and adults of all ages. There are aquariums and exhibits related to the flora and fauna that lives in Lake Champlain. A nice play area for infants, toddlers, and older toddlers. Limited food selection. Nice place to visit while in Burlington.

My one year old and almost 3 year old loved it here so much we went twice during our week stay in the area. The kid play area had lots of fun stuff for them to explore. My son loved the water play and my daughter was obsessed with the doctor area and pretending to care for the stuffed animals. We liked the hands on opportunities throughout the museum, and even though it is not a huge place, there's lots to see and do. We also ate some soup in the cafe and were very impressed with it. Usually the food options are pretty bad at these types of places and we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of food here. Highly recommend this place especially if you have young kids.

My grand kids are 11 and 8 and have come here for years. It is a small aquarium but they continue to enjoy it. We have an annual membership, it is worth it for us.

Our kids particularly enjoyed crawling around the shipwreck. The preschool later also liked watching it through the remote control camera, while the toddler preferred to play at the "kinetic sand" table.

This place isn't bad, but other science centers I've been to are much better. My kids did have a good time, though.

This place is amazing! It's a great place to take kids, young adults.... basically people of all ages that enjoy science and the environment. It's clean and the gift shop is nice...bathrooms were clean too!

Really a place for kids to explore in various ways. It is not a fancy aquarium with exotic fish or sharks. Lots of items to explore. Parents will be bored but kids will be excited.

Fun for indoor winter activity. The new kids play area is great .

Was interesting, but definitely more geared to/ fun/more to do for toddlers. We are one adult and a 12 and 10 year old. Was finished in about an hour, and that was pushing it. So almost $50 bucks to all get in was way waaaaaaay over priced for what you get. Should be 5-6 bucks a person, absolute MAX...Not 14 and 17! And that doesn't even give you full access. :(
You Would better off going out to a movie and all get snacks and drinks for that price.... and would last longer.

The more I think about how much I spent the more peeved I feel... as this only occupied us for an hour. at least it supports the animals they keep, who seem responsibly cared for.

The staff is friendly and knowledgable and you can tell they enjoy their jobs. The place and exhibits inside are great but the place is definitely made more for kids. As an adult it can still be fun and you'll definitely enjoy yourself but I just wish there were more activities and exhibits geared toward higher age groups. If you have kids though they will most likely have a fantastic time visiting ECHO.

So many people said my 10-year-old son would love this, and being big museum fans, we were very excited about visiting. This place is really better for small children. We had trouble killing time until our 20-minute movie started, and there were kids crying during the entire movie.

Fantastic place for kids. The many interactive exhibits are educational and engaging. As good a nature, science, and technology center as I have experienced.

Great for kids and science/environmental enthusiasts.

This was a great way to spend a morning with a toddler!

Had a great time watching my kiddo discover new things & his amazement, was awesome can't wait to bring him back on his B-day when the butterfly exhibit ooens up!

The science museum had a dinosaur exhibit and it was amazing, better than I expected. Highly recommend you go.

Awesome place. The new kids section is amazing fun even for an adult.

Fun and interactive place for adults and kids alike. I highly recommend coming here

It was a beautiful evening to go to the butterfly exhibit. I believe the lady said there was a hundred to 125 different species of butterflies and they would land on you I had one walk across my face I have lots of pictures and they are just so beautiful and rare to see around here!!!!

Overall, a fun experience but one that's geared more towards families than adults. Definitely enjoyed it but would probably not go again.

For a long time I had no idea there was a play space for young children here. Lots of fun!

Nice hands on options, would benefit from a few more stations. Good play area for little ones and enough for older ones to do as well.

On vacation with my granddaughter she had a fun few hours checking out everything

Excellent for young children! Aged four to ten year old grandchildren loved it! All kinds of stuff for kids.

VERY overpriced!! There were very few things that we were impressed with. The cafe was also very overpriced, who wants to pay $5 for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?! NOT worth the $50 it cost for our family of 4.

Great place to spend an afternoon with the kids. They even have a wonderful play area! Great views of the lake!

Small but informative center. Great for kids. On the waterfront that can also be explored.

A great place to take kids. It gets a little bit boring as you get older, but it's still a pretty cool place to go if you've never been.

Aimed at a pretty young audiece, but a good time for the older set anyway

ECHO is a fantastic place for all ages. What really shines about ECHO is the multitude of hands-on learning and exploration activities, especially for children. There is so much to learn about the nature of Lake Champlain. There are a number of aquariums and small exhibits. A few things to look for: the second floor kids play area is worth the membership, the library in the back is a wealth of information if you are a subject matter expert on Lake Champlain, and take a walk on the second floor outside deck to watch a beautiful sunset. Of course all the staff that I've encountered is very knowledgeable, kind, and ever-present for questions.

Beautiful, educational facility for family fun. Comfortable and clean, this destination comes highly recommended by locals and tourists alike.

A smaller aquarium and science center along Lake Champlain. Permanent exhibits include fish from the lake, a touch tank, and local turtles. There's also an area for younger kids to climb around, pretend, and splash. The traveling exhibit room has had a variety of exhibits over the years, ranging from a butterfly room to dinosaurs. As of 6/19, it's a Trivial Pursuit exhibit about the 50 states. We get in free with out membership at our local science museum.

Great meuseum. A combination of science exhibitions with equarium and children's play area. Great for small children.

Definitely geared more towards kids. It's interesting, but if you're an adult, I can't imagine spending more than maybe an hour tops here. I was out in about half an hour. Very interesting for kids though. Worth it if you have little ones.

Very nice. We did the dinner cruise and really enjoyed it

Came here with some friends. We're all over 25 years old and had so much fun! Very informative.

Great for the kids, and a boardwalk and playground!

Small but with lots to do for the young ones. They just need to repair a few of the exhibits. But overall the experience was positive. Would recommend and even visit again.

Small but well thought-out museum with a friendly and helpful staff. Exhibits are mostly for kids.

Don't be ashamed of being older and going to this place without a child. It is absolutely mind blowing how fun this place is even for adults. My favorite part of echo is the "make your own weather broadcast" station. Very cute!!

Fun place to spend a couple of hours. We learned some cool facts about Champlain lake. Ideal place to go with your kid on a cloudy day.

It is a wonderful place to keep coming back to. We have been 4 times in the past two months and still want to go back. You can always find something new.

Nice place and lots of things for kids. Seems like a lot of potential being wasted. Located in beautiful area.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in the life and ecology of Lake Champlain. Great for kids. Fun stuff. Recommended.

So much fun! The dinosaur exhibit was cool, great play areas for all ages.

Always a great place to visit when in Burlington. Excellent learning experience for the kids. Well maintained and clean. A couple of good hours spend here every time we go. Kids under 12 guaranteed to have a blast.

A bit outdated and over priced for the quality. Kids love it however

Reciprocal membership agreement with many other museums. -1 star for horrible parking. Once you are inside, no problems. :-)

The kids enjoyed this education center. Frogs, turtles & fish, learning about lake Champlain. We saw a 3D movie on sharks. We paid extra for that but the ladies made sure we got the best admission pkg to be cost effective. They held our purchases from the gift shop behind the desk so we didn't have to carry it around the center.

Brought my Kindergarten class for a field trip. Really great day! Awesome communication before the trip. Just a wonderful experience for my kids!

Terribly expensive for a family of 4 and really not worth all that money.

Highly recommended for younger kids. Lots to learn in a fun and playful manner. Easy to spend a few hours. They show movies (We didn't go) and they feed the reptiles at certain times. From the second floor great views of the lake. Cafe inside.

Small, but nice science center. They have a lot of nice exhibits on local fish, frogs, and turtles.

Great mid size aquarium/museum. Has a nice variety for the kids. Beautiful view from the upper deck. Kids really enjoyed Petting the starfish. Look for coupons around town to save on the admission fee.

A great place to bring your kids to learn about the area and the marine life.

A little busy given it's location but a cool take on the BVT area.

Beautiful. They hosted a holiday party. It was fantastic.