Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Review

LOVE bringing my daughters here to learn and love the relaxing and safe environment

An ok stop. I would not reccomend to others. Price is too high for what is there in our opinion. Many exhibits were closed or empty. Couldn't do the hands on portion due to COVID. There were very few of a species. For example there was 1 big tank that had maybe 4 sharks and they weren't even big. It got near the end and I commented that I was suprised we hadn't seen a starfish. Just then there was a small flat tank covered in PVC pipe and netting. There were 3 starfish inside, hard to see, not a pretty scene at all. 2 small tanks of 2 diff kinds of jellyfish, but the signs were the same for both. Was that an error? We saw everything in 40 minutes. Kids ages 16, 14, 11 thought some parts were good. They had fun, but also noticed the empty areas and lack of exhibits. Not worth $120 for family of 5.

While it is over priced, the exhibits are great & there's lots of interaction for kids. When it's crowded, it's a pretty tight fit trying to navigate through and it makes it hard for the little guys to get a good look at anything. I always aim to go on weekdays & not around holidays.

More geared towards kids' learning. Not much I didn't already know.

A great visit. Priced reasonably. Smaller Aquariums but other offerings make up for it. Many extras on site

Loved it. Went whale watching as well, it was a great time!

I have visited here since it was called the Virginia Marine Science Museum. It is a great place for families to visit with their kids! I always recommend this place to tourists visiting the Oceanfront.

The aquarium has a lot of fun exhibits for the family and kids. I was super disappointed that one whole building was closed.

A lot of fun for the whole family. Highly recommend doing the dolphin ride. We got to see a lot of dolphins close to the boat. The staff was very knowledgeable and nice. The boat also has restrooms and snacks available on the boat.

They don't have a lot of marine life. Many aquariums are better. Do this as a last resort. Kid liked the seals out front the most.

Amazing!!! Not as crowded on a weekday in the morning.

It's just ok. There isn't a clear path so you don't miss anything, I constantly had to look at the map to figure out where to go next. I got a discount due to their anniversary, I would've hated to pay full price as I don't see the value.

We had a wonderful day and will be back all summer !!!

Small n mostly empty but I quess its due to covid 19

We were lucky and had the whole museum to ourselves. I thought it was priced a little high but it did have great exhibits.

It was a fun place to go. I loved it and as far as I could tell my daughter who is just under a year old seemed to love the aquarium as well.

Very informative and nicely done. Many interactive displays. Galapagos movie was very interesting excellent 3D. Gift shop had a good variety. Young man working the gift shop was wonderful. Very helpful and friendly. More people could be like him. Took the whale and dolphin boat trip also. They knew just where to go. The driver of the boat quickly angled the boat for the best view once whales were sited. Slowed down along side dolphins. Many photo opertunities. Great value for the money.

Love this aquarium. However half of it is under construction and they do not tell you until you have paid. Seems a bit disingenuous to me.

Good place for kids to learn and areas for them to interact with animals and games for them to play

I absolutely loved the nature trail between the two aquarium buildings! I was very impressed with all of the exhibits and took far too many pictures! The sharks are my favorite thing, but I very much enjoyed seeing their Komodo monitors as well! They also had a beautiful little octopus! I also went on one of their boat tours and enjoyed that immensely! Definitely well worth the price! Will be going back!

Very cute but not as big as I expected. There wasn't a ton of exhibits and there was a lot of exhibits under construction. The animals seemed well taken care of and healthy and all their tanks were clean so that is a huge plus!! Just wish there was more to it.

This is an absolutely beautiful place. MAKE SURE YOU BUY TICKETS IN ADVANCE!!! My wife and i had gone here for the first time and we both thought this was just a usual pay to get in but theres actually a limit to how many people can come into the aquarium. We had walked up and asked about admission but all the tickets were sold out :((( we had decided to go a different day and i will say itbwas definitely worth trying to go again! In front of the aquarium there are seals that you can see in the parking lot and you dont have to pay admission for that its public.

Great time. The kids really enjoyed themselves. They also had a cafe where we were able to get pizza and other things

Great place to visit. Only down point is we like to buy the collective Penny's and they had all those shut down because of covid

Very cool aquarium, be sure to checkout the penguins

Great place to bring the kids especialy on a rainy day.

We enjoyed the time in the aquarium. My 1 year old was very excited and happy. We are definitely going back soon.

Kids liked it. The big tanks are nice. Average aquarium. Staff was fantastic, very accommodating, friendly and knowledgeable.

Good place to spend the day in VA Beach if the weather isn't the best. The staff is knowledgeable and courteous. You can tell these animals are a passion and not just a paycheck.

The outdoor nature walks were an added bonus!

It was quite nice, the aquarium was kinda short and there weren't that many exhibits but still a great place to bring family. Starts to get busy in the afternoon but definitely fun in the morning.

Visited as a kid and came back 13 years later and spent the night in the aquarium. Hands down the best aquarium in Virginia.

As always a wonderful place. Second building needs more aquariums.

Busy busy full of people and some exhibits under renovation but overall still really enjoyable.

We always enjoy a visit to the aquarium when we are in town. And if we can squeeze it in, the high ropes course is definitely worth it. The best I high ropes course I have visited They are not directly related to aquarium but are snack dab in the middle so worth the mention.

Too expensive, especially with all the hands on exhibits closed. You would think with this in mind that they would adjust the price accordingly, they still getting full price, but 40% of the place is roped off..

Fun place. I'd like to be able to bring my own food and drinks.

Always enjoyable trip for my daughter, the museum has grown over the years and continues to do so.

I love the stingrays and the walk in aquarium hallway. I saw many animals

Wonderful rain alternative for VB beach vacation with family w/small child

My kids loved it, tho it is small but it is worth the visit, i do look forward to going on a dolphin watch ride.

Went with my daughter on a field trip. Had a great time

We take our kids here almost every year there's something new to see the kids love and learning educational things about the local wildlife and we have a great time

Take your time to walk through each of the exhibit and you'll definitely love the it. I spent around 3hrs+ across the two buildings.
They had some renovation planned and so didn't have the seals and sea horses on display.
Overall a good place.

Fun aquarium with a good variety of exhibits. Cafe is extremely overpriced for the school cafeteria style food so I would recommend eating elsewhere.
Also provides a dolphin watch ride which is well worth the price.
Would suggest checking the website for their less busier times as it can get very overcrowded and guest are very rude. Adults will push kids out of the way to get to exhibits, jump infront of lines, etc. So if you go at a busy time you must have a lot of patience to enjoy your experience.

This was a neat place to visit with a lot to see & do. The staff was friendly and everything seemed clean/well kept. The exit was through the gift shop which I dislike. Obviously it's good marketing, but It creates unnecessary tension if you're with children.
Look into parking before you go. There are multiple lots. Some are for the Aquarium and others for the adventure center. The walk between the 2 centers is not ideal for the very young or very old.

Great family fun with lots of interactive exhibits for kids.

This is a nice aqarium. It is more hands on things than actual animals I think. My older kids liked it but my babies didn't as much. There wasn't a lot the little ones could do or see from the strollers. Was nice but probably wouldn't go again. The staff was very friendly and knowledgeable.

Its an amazing facility with lots of marine animals. The staff make it above and beyond.

wish they had more interactive activities and more animals but loved the otters they put on a show!!!

Great place. Lots to see. Girls enjoyed added Adventure Park. Membership makes it an even better value.

Staff was very friendly and helpful. Prices are great for an aquarium. I went on their boat ride with my family, it lasted an hour and a half and we thoroughly enjoyed seeing the dolphins! They offer military discounts too!

THIS PLACE ROCKS. I haven t been to many aquariums and went to this one while enjoying my anniversary. The decor and cool set ups they have just make the experience so fun. It s a little small, I wished they had more because when I came to the end I almost thought about going through again! My husband and I enjoyed it.

There is a lot of information provided which is good for adults but not as exciting for kids or those with short attention span. Shark and sea turtle viewing areas are the highlights, but don't feel it was worth $25 a person. We did the whole aquarium in an hour and a half. Perhaps if we watched the movie or took the boat trip it would have added to our excitement (at an additional cost).

A really awesome place to learn and see aquatic animals. The employees are very informative and helpful. But couldn't ride a shark so 4 outta 5.

Virginia Aquarium thank you from Lewis Legends celebrating 200 Years building Canada and 400 Years building America thank you for your hospitality a lovely time.

Great exhibits with lots to look at and explore. The staff was very friendly. The price of admission was reasonable for the amount of time spent there. We didn t purchase any food or drink, just a magnet for the fridge.

Need more attractions for the price I honestly fill like it wasn't even worth it for how quick this visit of activities were.

Great family time & fun educational exhibits for all. I had as much fun pushing buttons as my daughter!

Interesting place., Good exhibits , cool Ray petting area

This place is very educational and walks guests through how Virginia has changed through the years on Earth. It shows how the staff promote conservation and rehabilitation rather than just showing off animals. This aquarium is one of my favorites that I have visited.

Not much for marine life, more inland types of fish and animals. Few exhibits that were of interest were closed or out of order. Mall of America has better aquarium exhibits.

Truly a world class location. Great for all ages. Worth a season pass if you're local.

Whale watching! Great crew, very informative. Great facilities.

We purchased tickets for Dolphin Discovery but not many Dolphins were around as we expected. But a good boat trip.

My son loves going here! The animals are awesome and the staff is friendly.

Right now make sure you get tickets online. You can walk up to buy tickets. I wish we knew

Enjoyed the aquarium with a grandchild, as always a great time. Glad we got to see the "Curious George" exhibit before it was gone. Appreciate the random "photo opportunities" set up throughout, helps remind me to capture the memories.

Expected a bigger display of exhibits. It was still a nice place to visit on vacation.