National Aviary Reviews

We had a great time lots of hands on activities for the kids.

I visit here every couple of years and love it every time. The price could be considered pretty steep given the size of the establishment, but remembering where that money is going makes it all worth it. If you don't take very long to pause and enjoy each environment, you could be out of here in thirty minutes. But don't do that, that's silly! My absolute favorite room is the grasslands room, where they allow you to get up close with some adorably tiny, quiet birds. The butterfly tent is also enjoyable during the summer. Last I was aware, they were in the middle of some major remodeling, so be sure to check back in the coming months for some new exhibit features.

My husband and I visited November 26th 2018.... FANTASTIC experience(to say the least)! It was a dull and dreary afternoon in Pittsburgh and my husband had a vacation day so we decided to visit the Aviary. The day was not waisted... we absolutely loved the staff and fell into a zen like calm. Nice change to get away from the typical hoo humm and crazy sounds of a normal day . Highly recommended hours of peace.worth every penny.. an added plus is the parking for only $5.00.

Beautiful facility! I only had memories of being there when I was much, much younger, as a youngster growing up in Pittsburgh.
My wife and I took our eight month old son, and met some other family there. It really exceeded my expectations.
It's well managed, and it's a wonderful cause. I didn't know this, but apparently a yearly membership will get you into many other like facilities.

Nice selection of birds. Nice area around building. Could use a bigger entry area. But exhibit area is pretty big.

We have a membership to the Aviary and it is great when we can go at a time when it is quiet. The kids love volunteering to feed the birds and at times you can experience some cool close encounters. Last time we went they brought a bald eagle out in public to get used to being around people.

Member of the aviary and recently had our daughter's birthday there. We enjoy seeing the animals and the staff is friendly.

A great number of things to see and experiences to have

Had an incredible time visiting the national aviary. Would definitely recommend checking out if you re visiting Pittsburgh.

Wonderful place. Beautifully maintained with friendly, knowledgeable staff.

Wonderful experience. To see and hear the birds in a natural setting is inspiring. Can't wait to take my granddaughters there. The baby sloth was a huge bonus. The staff were friendly and knowledgeable. Only downside was the rainforest section was closed for a refreshment.

The Aviary is great and it's an amazing opportunity to see so many birds up close. I love the room where all the small sun birds fly around as well as seeing the Penguins up close and I must every side of their habitat. I wish the parking situation is a little bit better because it could be crowded and then you have to go in come back out and go look for street parking which there's usually enough of but what would kids and stroller and supplies it can be a hall and frustrating due toroad/kid/safety issuesuntil the kids are older. My kids are only 3.5 now and like to run and dart from one thing to another so I'm going to wait another year or so until they are a little bit older for us to come back and them enjoy the birds as they did when they were younger and strapped into a stroller and were more calm around the birds.

It was our first time going to Aviary with kids and they liked it a lot. It was very clean and staff was nice. I would recommend to visit for people who like birds.

Great place to visit for all ages! Up close to all kinds of birds! Virtual fly in machine. One can fly like a bird!

Nice place, however it is extremely small, and I don't feel like you get what you pay for. It's pricy!

I took my friend to the Aviary today. She had never been before. We had a great time. The National Aviary is a wonderful place to visit to learn all about all kinds of birds. It's well worth the trip.

The NA is incredible. I go every year during my trip back to Pittsburgh and it's always the highlight of my trip.

Awesome! Love walking through and learning something new every time.

This is a special place! Truly a Pittsburgh gem. It's amazing to walk through the rooms with birds flying around you. One of my favorite experiences here is the feedings. It's so fun to watch the penguins easy fish or watch the lorikeets eat nectar. Their always trying to find ways of making the experience more immersive.

Left wondering how THIS became the National Aviary. WOW????

Many learning opportunities and so many birds . Great family place.

Great experience, everyone should visit. Super friendly and knowlegable staff.

Lots of fun for the kids. Plenty of birds to feed for just a few bucks.

Educational with beautiful birds and fun things for the kids

The aviary is awesome. I love going when I'm in town. Definitely worth the trip.

Beautiful birds who all look healthy and happy which is always the concern at any kind of place like this. Friendly and very knowledgeable staff. Ton of variety of birds, with a few you'll never have heard of. Great learning experience too.

Love everything about this place. Bring a few extra dollars to feed the lorikeets. Trust me, you can't do it just once!! It's a blast.

Unique experience, especially if you love birds! Unusual species in different indoor "natural" settings. Kids will love the penguins and flight show.

Low $, beautiful bird collection, several interactive exhibits. Great for couples, or families! love that anyone can bike here (healthy ride) and cheap entry to nation's best aviary collection of birds. They have a sloth too! worst part is the food, pack a lunch or eat locally on Western Ave, plenty of Great local eateries to grab a bite. Parking is small lot, or street nearby.

A family favorite, worth the 2 hour drive we make to visit.

10/10 Time. Very knowledgeable staff. Staff is very friendly. They have really cool shows like Birds Of The Amazon where they show us videos about certain birds and then they release them and they fly around the room. At the end they have a bird that accepts donations from people by plucking the bills out of peoples hands and putting it in a donation box, it is mad litty. They also have a bird simulator were they put you on a machine with wings and you put a virtual reality headset on and fly around. The places you can fly around in are Ny, the Swiss alps, the ocean, and King Kong...yes, King Kong as in the giant gorilla who climbed the Empire State Building. It was an awesome time.

Place is small did whole thing in less than an hour and at 60 bucks definitely not worth it

Great place.
Lots of birds!
Wonderful penguin exhibit!

Great place to appreciate birds, bought a membership since I like going so much.

So beautiful. I might be biased because I think birbs are the cutest, but this is the greatest place on earth. My favorite part was the prep kitchen where they make all the bird food, cause I'm a prep cook for people and I feel like birbs would be better customers. The staff are educated and helpful, and the birds seem happy and healthy. I could live here, I wish I could give them more stars.

Interesting but could've done better on providing identification of birds. I understand the difficulty of doing so in the open areas but lacking in the caged areas.

Had a great time with the family. Brang back memories of being there as a kid with my grandmother.

The National Aviary is fantastic and seems like a hidden gem within this city. If I remember correctly, even though it is nationally recognized, it receives no federal funding.

Beautiful place. Great place to spend the afternoon.

Lots of cool exhibits, plus a butterfly garden. The flamingos lose it when they simulate rain. Lots of variety.

It was an amazing experience to bring my fiances parents. The facility was clean and the staff was friendly, interactive, and informative.

The baby flamingos were adorable! We saw everything there in about two hours, taking our time.

I might be biased because I went on a day when almost no one was there, and a staff member asked if I would help train a little tucan to hop from one arm to the next taking treats as part of a show. Yes, obviously. I just about died from happiness as the little fuschia critter landed on my arm. Obviously this won't reflect everyone's experiences, but I was charmed. There's a room to sit with tiny flatland birds, an exhibit for owls and penguins, opportunities to see large, jewel-toned macaws flitting from tree to tree. It's an impressive and educational experience for thinking about diversity, conservation, and evolution when you see just how many types of birds from so many different climates and zones. My guess is it would be a great opportunity for little ones to learn about diversity and birds (also bats and a sloth I believe), but since it is open like Phipp's Conservatory, just make sure they're ready to have birds flapping in the room with them and not in cages. Some rooms have special instructions to open only one door at a time to protect the birds and keep them from crossing over into the wrong habitat. Also I think the museum is accessible for wheelchairs but I'm not 100% sure.

Way cool birds. Rick Solid VR experience for sale too. Make sure to say waddup to my main man Archie in the wetlands area if you get a chance

One of Pittsburgh s greatest treasures! We love the Aviary. Have made wonderful memories there over my lifetime!

It was allot of fun, much smaller than I thought. Only took about 2 hours to walk the whole thing and that was really taking our time.

Very beautiful. The flowers were still in bloom. You could take in every different smell, from the different flowers as you walked throughout. The van Gogh exhibit was stunning. I lived in the area my whole life & never been here before. My fiancee loved it also. We will be back soon.

Very informative and the staff is Amazing, very helpful!

Smaller than we anticipated. Didnt get 2 interact with the animal, as much as we wanted 2, we paid extra 2 have an encounter with. I feel like some zoos I've been 2 have better aviaries. A disappointing experience.

Was fantastic!!! Its very small,it was a lot of fun, we did the penquin encounter and it was well worth it.
The presentation of the penquins and being up close to a penquin was super fun

We had a wonderful time, some really amazing birds. Pay extra to get an encounter with a bird.It is well worth it. We had the opportunity to handle an amazingly beautiful EurAsian owl!

Enjoyed a lot. Very clean, cared place. Species are amazing!

Always enjoy coming here. I like to look for new things. I hadn't seen the rain forest display yet well-maintained, clean. Very informative. It's had a good time.

Lots of birds to see, multiple exhibits such as tropical birds, penguins, and more.
If you are planning on taking pictures, make sure to bring a cloth to wipe your lens in the tropical room as it is hot and humid the camera lens will cloud until it reaches room temperture.

This Aviary is neatly tucked in the heart of the city. Can't miss. The staff are very polite and helpful with facts and details on their finger tips.

A must watch is the shows they have and the pinguins are so much fun to watch.

A good day and time well spent

Very cool! Would recommend stopping there if your visiting Pittsburgh!

We were welcomed like royalty. Staff and volunteers are so knowledgeable. Even the birds cooperated. It is a lovely facility and would highly recommend taking time to visit!

Lots of fun. Knowledgeable and friendly staff. Very interactive exhibits and many demonstrations to go to throughout the day.

I was surprised and saddened by the lack of compassion from the Pittsburgh National Aviary today. When I asked to speak to the manager because the sensors on the handicap doors were not working I got "oh well, we don't know when they will be fixed" response with major attitude for bringing it to their attention. It was almost impossible to navigate my 2year old wheelchair bound son through the exhibits. As we tried to enter and exit the exhibit rooms.. we constantly got stuck in the doorway with a crowd of people behind us waiting and watching us struggle. We left early.. and I left my name and number asking a manger to please call me. I plan to return during the week when maybe less crowded and hope someone calls from the Aviary to help redeem their reputation.

This is a very good place, specially if you want a change from rush of life.. You can visit this place and spend some time around peaceful birds and see some wonders of God .. Fyi, the birds move around you freely and fearlessly and they will never hurt you until you scare them.

Great experience. So much to learn in an interactive setting. Extremely knowledgeable and informative staff. Would highly recommend.

I like to photograph and this place gives me the reason. Moreover, my 2.5 year old daughter enjoys every bit of time spent here...they have decent variety of birds which allows you to spend at least couple of hours... worth a visit!

We were late because of traffic but they still have us a smaller show

Great place to go and just sit and watch the birds fly around , also kids love to feed the lorakeets and watch the shows put an by birds

Slightly pricy for the admission. How ever we enjoyed it

Just what we were looking for. Helpful staff, awesome Education programs - great way to spend a day!

So pricey . Small for this exibition . This place will have options for additional exibition .pay extra .

Amazing close up interactive bird exhibits. Relaxing and fun. Great staff eager to answer questions. Lots of options for private bird and sloth encounters. One of my favorite places

Helpful staff, nice exhibits with up close and personal birds

A nice place to see some beautiful birds, learn some new things and maybe have an encounter or two.

I have been both a member and a volunteer at the Aviary, and I have nothing but wonderful things to say. The birds' living conditions are beautiful and clean, and updates to the facility have kept it relevant. Can't wait to go back!

The staff are amazing and so accomodating and educating. The flamingo encounter was great!

Great opportunities for interactions with birds and sloth!