Stephen Birch Aquarium

San Diego has long been renowned for its storied Scripps Institution of Oceanography where marine research and public education have always been twin missions. The institution’s public face is the Stephen Birch Aquarium which, for more than a century, has been the premier aquarium in the country with more than 5,000 animals representing 380 species. Located on a coastal bluff, the aquarium offers majestic views of the Scripps campus in La Jolla and the Pacific Ocean.

Among the exhibits is the Hall of Fishes featuring more than 60 habitats from the Pacific Northwest to Mexico and the Caribbean. The largest habitat is a 70,000-gallon kelp tank forest viewable from a special gallery.

For a peek into the world of sharks, visit Shark Reef, a 13,000-gallon tank with shark species that inhabit tropical reefs, including whitetip and blacktip reef sharks, brownbanded bamboo sharks, Port Jackson sharks, and wobbegongs.

There are also living tide pools with close-up views of a wide range of animals specific to San Diego, including starfish, hermit crabs, sea cucumbers, and lobsters. Learn about tides and “life on the edge” where temperatures fluctuate wildly and sea animals are exposed to floods or completely dry conditions within hours. Tide pool excursions are scheduled with staff naturalists in the winter.

In the Wonder of Water, children (and adults) can play – and work – with streaming water, building dams, and creating and designing watersheds. Not only fun but educational, see how watersheds drain into a stream or river and finally into a lake or the ocean.

Another exhibit, Feeling the Heat: The Climate Challenge, presents the science of global warming, highlights Scripps’s half-century commitment to studying climate change, and educates visitors on current environmental changes and those projected for the future.