Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography - Aquarium in La Jolla - 2300 Expedition Way, USA

A bit smaller than I anticipated, and the weather didn't allow for the tidal ponds to be "open" (pouring rain), but they did bring some of the interactive experiences inside to see. I would recommend going in the afternoon so you'll miss the school field trips. Overall, it was still a great experience!

Paid $25 for a view of the beach pretty much. Aquarium itself a bit underwhelming for the price point and kinda dirty. Not in the top tier of aquariums imo. Just not very big with a lot of options; some things are under construction. Fun for people watching tho!

We had a short one hour visit to the Birch Aquarium, which was very successful, AND FUN!!! It started for us with getting a great disabled parking spot. If it wasn't for those parking spots, it would be difficult to visit the place. We immediately went out back for the views and the reefs. Although it was an overcast day, it was beautiful. I had fun putting my finger in some creature in the reef. We then inside and saw seahorses and other creatures. We then went outside and saw sharks and penguins. It was lots of fun!!!

I completely forgot to write a review back in early August when it happened! Kids have been there with several times. Great little aquarium. I was more impressed with the staff. My son gets excited about any kind of animals, and will talk excessively about it with staff. They were super kind to him and engaged a lot with him. My youngest daughter is mischievous and is a cute little girl with Down Syndrome. She loves to run off if you look away from her and actively will try to hide. Terrifying game for a parent. She slipped away while I was there and within a few minutes I realized I was going to have a very difficult time finding her. The staff was AMAZING. I asked for help, so they called over the radio. Within 30 seconds, at least 15 staff members came streaming out of what I assumed was a break room. They had found my daughter within 3-4 minutes! I cannot thank them enough!

As other reviews mentioned, it is small and the sharks tank definitely did not impress but... The price is right and parking is free. They have a few cool tanks - I loved the jellyfish and the pingouins and my kid enjoyed touching the sea cucumber and star fish in the tide pools. It's enough to entertain yourself and a 4 yrs old for an hour or 2 so worth the $25 imo.

we had previously purchased our tickets online which was a good idea because there was a line to buy tickets we noticed when we arrived. we visited on a somewhat sprinkling and rainy day so there wasn't too much action going on in the outside tanks and displays and most people were walking through the displays and exhibits inside. fyi, this aquarium is extremely small but drink worth the visit as you can easily kill an hour or two looking around. we were able to touch and see some small animals when outside but because of the weather they had to pack up shortly after. i enjoyed the shark tank and we were lucky to have made it on time for when they feed them so that was interesting to watch.

This is a smaller but quite mighty aquarium as we were able to see the shows and took our time. All in all we spent almost 3 hours here and it was great! I enjoyed the penguins, the weedy seahorses and so much more I already forgot the name of. Do yourself a favor and check it out if you like aquariums!

Birch Aquarium is lovely. We bought our tickets when we arrived, on a Sunday morning, and there was no wait. We had two 1-year-olds with us, and they loved the experience. Highly recommended!