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National Aquarium (Baltimore) facts for kids

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This page is about the aquarium in Baltimore. For the former aquarium in Washington, D.C., see National Aquarium (Washington, D.C.).
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National Aquarium
National Aquarium (Baltimore) Logo.png
BaltimoreNationalAquarium.JPG
The National Aquarium (angular original building with glass pyramid top of 1981, rear right, and 2005 north extension to its left) lies near two of four historic museum / exhibit ships of the Baltimore Maritime Museum on Piers 3 and 4 in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, including World War II submarine USS Torsk and Lightship Chesapeake.
Date opened August 8, 1981; 44 years ago (August 8, 1981)
Location 501 East Pratt Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21202 United States
Land area 250,000 sq ft (23,000 m2)
Coordinates 39°17′04″N 76°36′25″W / 39.284398°N 76.606936°W / 39.284398; -76.606936
No. of animals 17,000+
No. of species 750+
Volume of largest tank 1,300,000 US gallons (4,900,000 L)
Total volume of tanks More than 2,200,000 US gallons (8,300,000 L)
Annual visitors 1.5 million (2009)
Memberships AZA

The National Aquarium in Baltimore is a special place where you can explore the amazing world of water animals. It's a non-profit organization located in the Inner Harbor area of downtown Baltimore, Maryland. The aquarium first opened its doors on August 8, 1981.

It's a very popular spot, attracting about 1.5 million visitors each year. This makes it the biggest tourist attraction in Maryland. The aquarium holds over 2.2 million gallons of water and is home to more than 17,000 animals from over 750 different species!

The National Aquarium's main goal is to inspire people to protect the world's water environments. They do this through cool exhibits, science, and educational programs. Some of their famous exhibits include a tropical rain forest, a huge Atlantic coral reef, a shark tank, and "Australia: Wild Extremes." They also have a "4D Immersion Theater" for an extra fun experience.

In 1990, the aquarium added a marine mammal pavilion. This is where six Atlantic bottlenose dolphins live. Most of these dolphins were born right there at the aquarium. For a while, the Baltimore aquarium teamed up with the older National Aquarium in Washington, D.C. But the Washington location closed in 2013.

National Aquarium from Inner Harbor - 01
Left to right: The red building (north extension), the blue main building (1981), and the Pier 4 marine mammal pavilion.

History of the National Aquarium

The idea for the National Aquarium started in the mid-1970s. The mayor of Baltimore, William Donald Schaefer, was inspired by another aquarium in Boston. He thought an aquarium would be a great way to help improve Baltimore's downtown area and Inner Harbor.

In 1976, people in Baltimore voted to support building the aquarium. Construction began on August 8, 1978, on Pier 3 in the Inner Harbor. Even though no money from the U.S. government was used to build it, the United States Congress officially named it the "national aquarium" in 1979.

The aquarium opened to the public on August 8, 1981. It quickly became a popular attraction. The original design was created by Peter Chermayeff. Later, a new glass building, called the Glass Pavilion, was added. Construction on this expansion started in 2002 and it opened on December 16, 2005. This new part is 64,500 square feet and 120 feet tall!

Protecting Our Water Worlds

National Aquarium Animal Care and Rescue Center, 901 E. Fayette Street, Baltimore, MD 21202 (49067366306)
The National Aquarium's Animal Care and Rescue Center.

The National Aquarium is very involved in protecting nature. In 2011, it became the Maryland partner for the National Wildlife Federation. The aquarium helps clean up the Chesapeake Bay wetlands.

They also have a special Marine Animal Rescue Program (MARP). This program rescues, helps heal, and then releases marine animals back into the wild. They have saved and returned many animals, including seals, dolphins, porpoises, pilot whales, sea turtles, and even a manatee.

The National Aquarium Conservation Center, started in 2009, does important research. They study problems affecting water environments, like ocean health and pollution. They also look into how the BP oil spill affected the Gulf of Mexico.

The aquarium is also very "green." In 2011, it won an award for its strong commitment to being environmentally friendly. A large solar farm in Cambridge, Maryland, provides about 40% of the aquarium's power. This helps reduce carbon dioxide, a gas that contributes to climate change.

Explore the Exhibits

The National Aquarium has many exciting exhibits spread across two main buildings: the Pier 3 Pavilion and the Pier 4 Pavilion.

Pier 3 Pavilion Exhibits

This main building has five levels. Each level has different exhibits that teach you about a specific water environment. It also holds two very large tanks. One shows an Atlantic coral reef, and the other shows the open ocean.

Level 1: Blacktip Reef

This huge 265,000-gallon habitat looks like an Indo-Pacific coral reef. You can see it from many angles, including a cool floor-to-ceiling window. It's home to 69 different kinds of fish.

Some of the animals you might see here are:

A famous resident was Calypso, a 500-pound green sea turtle. She was rescued in 2000 and lived at the aquarium until 2020. In 2020, a new green sea turtle named Kai joined the exhibit. Kai was rescued after being hurt by a boat.

Level 2: Maryland: Mountains to the Sea

This level shows animals that live right here in Maryland. The exhibits make you feel like you're traveling down a Maryland stream. You start in the Allegheny Mountains and end up at the Atlantic continental shelf.

Animals you can find:

Level 3: Surviving Through Adaptation, Living Seashore

This level is all about how fish adapt to survive in their homes. For example, the electric eel can shock its prey. The peacock mantis shrimp has super strong claws.

Animals to discover:

The Living Seashore exhibit is a 5,331-gallon touchpool. Here, you can gently touch animals from the Mid-Atlantic shoreline.

Level 4: North Atlantic to the Pacific, Amazon River Forest

This level shows different water habitats from around the world.

Some Amazon River Forest animals:

Level 5: Upland Tropical Rain Forest, Hidden Life

National Aquarium Night Aerial 2022
The aquarium's Upland Tropical Rainforest pyramid lit up at night.

This level feels like you're in the Amazon rainforest. You can walk on elevated platforms to watch birds. There's also a cave with glass displays of reptiles and amphibians.

Animals living here:

Atlantic Coral Reef

This huge 335,000-gallon tank shows an Atlantic coral reef. It's full of over 100 different species of animals.

Look for:

Shark Alley: Atlantic Predators

This large, 225,000-gallon, ring-shaped tank shows the deeper parts of the Atlantic coral reef. It's home to bigger reef animals.

You might see:

Pier 4 Pavilion Exhibits

This smaller building opened in 1990. It's where the marine mammals live. It also has a temporary exhibit about jellyfish.

Dolphin Discovery

This exhibit is home to the aquarium's six bottlenose dolphins. The tank holds 1.3 million gallons of water. You can watch the dolphins during their training, feeding, and play times. You can also talk to dolphin experts.

The dolphin family includes two males (Foster, Beau) and four females (Spirit, Chesapeake, Bayley, Jade). Chesapeake was the first dolphin born at the aquarium in 1992.

The aquarium plans to build a new, much larger sanctuary for the dolphins. This special seaside home will be in Florida or the Caribbean. The goal is to move the dolphins there by 2026.

Jellies Invasion: Oceans Out of Balance

This exhibit, which opened in 2009, shows nine different kinds of jellyfish. It also teaches how jellyfish are "bioindicators." This means they are sensitive to changes in their environment. So, they can warn us about problems like pollution or climate change in an ecosystem.

Jellyfish you might see:

  • Atlantic sea nettle
  • Pacific sea nettle
  • Purple-striped jelly
  • Lion's mane jellyfish
  • Upside-down jellyfish

Australia: Wild Extremes (Glass Pavilion)

United States lightship Chesapeake (LV-116)
The Glass Pavilion, home to the Australian exhibits.

This exhibit is like a huge walk-in birdcage, called an aviary. Many birds can fly freely around you! It looks like a river gorge in Australia. You'll find pools with Australian water animals. The exhibit shows the extreme conditions of this part of Australia: fire, drought, and floods.

You can see over 1,800 native animals, including freshwater crocodiles, turtles, snakes, and lizards. The expanded part of the aquarium, which opened in 2005, features a 35-foot waterfall. This waterfall was designed to look like a real one in a Maryland state park.

The exhibit also includes Aboriginal artwork. These images show how the Aboriginal people understand the land they live on.

Animals to spot:

National Aquarium in Washington, D.C.

There used to be another National Aquarium in Washington, D.C.. It was much older, founded in 1873. For a while, the Baltimore aquarium helped run the Washington, D.C., location. This partnership started in 2003.

However, the Washington, D.C., aquarium closed its doors for good on September 30, 2013. This was after 128 years of being open! The building needed renovations. About 1,700 animals from the Washington location moved to the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

How the Aquarium is Run

The National Aquarium is a public, non-profit organization. The city of Baltimore owns the aquarium buildings and land. But the non-profit National Aquarium, Inc. manages it. This group includes a volunteer Board of Governors and a paid staff. John Racanelli has been the CEO since 2011.

The aquarium tries to pay for its own operations. You can find more details about how it's funded and staffed in its yearly annual report on its website.

Awards and Recognition

The National Aquarium has received many awards!

  • In 2012, the Travel Channel named it one of the best aquariums in the United States.
  • It was also voted one of the top five best aquariums by 10best.com.
  • Coastal Living magazine called it the #1 aquarium in the U.S. in 2009.
  • In 2011, the City Paper Reader's Poll named it the "Best Attraction" and the "Best Place to Take Kids."

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