New York Aquarium

Address:	602 Surf Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11224, USA
Phone:	+1 718-265-3474
Site:	nyaquarium.com
Rating:	3.8
Working:	10AM–4:30PM 10AM–4:30PM 10AM–4:30PM 10AM–4:30PM 10AM–4:30PM 10AM–4:30PM 10AM–4:30PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 5

Leo Kluger

Its true that many of the exhibits are being renovated, but that didnt prevent us from having a nice time on a sunny Sunday afternoon in June 2015. We spent a little over two hours at the Aquarium, which included a pleasant wait in line for the AquaTheater, and a short wait for the show to begin. The music was great and helped pass the time, the walrus/sea lion performances and accompanying patter were well choreographed. The theater show lasted about 20 minutes start to finish, and featured two animal stars and two enthusiastic, high-energy trainers. We sat for a few minutes while the crowd emptied from the theater. Two daughters were with us, 5 & 6, and they had a nice time, as did my FIL. The exhibits that _were_ open were enough to maintain their interest, and included numerous fish aquariums (both fresh and salt), penguins doing their penguin thing, and a feeding. The kids liked the shark exhibit as well. We accidentally skipped the 4D theater, so that would have added value to the time we spent there. We bought tickets online while driving down Ocean Parkway, and therefore saved a dollar for each admission. The line to enter the parking lot took about 10 minutes and is not well marked at all as you turn onto the aptly-named Surf Avenue. Parking cost $13, and you can use a credit card. If your group can walk a bit, you could probably find free street-side parking around Neptune Avenue, walk a few minutes south to Surf Ave and turn right. We went to the Aquarium last century and it was a lot more fun then -- budget cuts, renovations or both have made the Aquarium clearly less than it used to be -- for example, we didnt see any sea turtles or walruses in the outdoor pools. The hands-on "touch the horseshoe crab" exhibit was closed. Its now not really a full-day adventure but clearly satisfactory as a morning or afternoon event. As mentioned above, the exhibits held the kids interest, and thats the key metric of success. We combined our visit with a short stop at the famous Coney Island boardwalk, with a quick walk across the sand to show the kids what the ocean is like. The entrance to the boardwalk is behind the Aquarium parking lot, right next door and very convenient. That Drifters Boardwalk song kept going through my head while we were there. Lots of colorful & exotic kites flying over the beach, and most visitors could spend a lot more time on the beach to add even more fun to the excursion. The admission price for five people is perhaps a bit expensive when compared to what the Aquarium used to be, but in fairness, the staff needs to keep lights on during renovation, and feed and care for the animals 24x7x365. Based on the webpages, it looks like renovations will be complete in 2016.

A Private User

The aquarium is, of course, a great place to spend a day for anyone who enjoys a look at beautiful animals. That being said, this aquarium had a few disappointments during our visit, though some may very well be attributed to it being cold, wintry January. Perhaps needless to say, the animal shows and outdoor petting pools were unavailable during the winter. Unfortunately, the gift shop and café seemed to have closed pretty early before the aquarium closing time, much to our dismay after trekking through the light snowfall to get to them. There were a few exhibits being worked on during our visit, as well, but this was made better when one of the workers inside an exhibit waved to me through the glass! What is probably less relevant to the weather and time of year is the lack of labeling on some exhibits. We saw animals in mixed tanks which were not labeled but that we would have liked to know about. After looking forward to seeing sharks, I was disappointed in finding only ONE tank housing large sharks. This small, murky tank had about 4 or 5 sharks inside, as well as 3 turtles and a large manta ray. They were certainly beautiful to watch, but their tank was not labeled at all. There were a few much smaller sharks in other exhibits- including one we spotted at the bottom of a mixed fish tank where the shark was not labeled, either. A handful of tanks seemed to be alarmingly small for the animal(s) dwelling inside them, including a very large electric eel seemingly stuck in a small tank not much longer than its own body. There was somewhat of a lack of diversity, made prominent by the fact that we saw up to 3 separate exhibits holding the exact same animals-- "Moon jellies" and some kind of "nettle fish" to name a few. Above all, the greatest disappointment was that we did not see a single octopus during our visit. There was one very small tank with a "Giant Pacific Octopus" label, but the tank was empty and certainly couldnt have even housed such an animal.

Millie D

I was here today with my family. This has always been my favorite aquarium however the experience I had today was just horrible. I can understand the construction going on has made it much smaller temporarily. I drove 2 hours to get here to just receive an attitude from a worker when I was trying to be seated in the sea lion show with my 4mo old baby, all I wanted was a seat in the shade where others were sitting and worker told me I wasnt aloud to sit in that area. When I tried to express my concern to him on why I couldnt sit in the hot beaming sun with my baby he basically told me it was my problem and that there was plenty of other seating which was back in the sun where I didnt want to be. Just like handicaps are accomadate so should be families with babies. This had ruined my experience here for the day. This is what I payed for. Atleast my proceeds helps out wildlife other than that worker there had very poor customer service skills in the aqua theatre wearing the yellow vest. 4D theatre was great. I might return when construction is Over!

Am3lia

Total disappointment!!! If you are coming from out of state to visit this aquarium do not waste you time and money. I live in NY and wanted to do something fun with my 15 month old and a few kids. Upon arrival, going into the park i was stopped by an employee, he stated i am unable to go into the park with my childs tricycle stroller its a hazard to other visitors inside and he stated it was very packed inside. I asked for a manager, and another employee came and stated the same thing. I went back to the car and got another regular stroller i had. when i go into the aquarium, there was not a lot of visitors (as i was told the park was packed). And then my second disappointment, there were not much sea animals to view (there were just four or five animals). As a person that lives in NY to visit there it was such a HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT and the kids were also so disappointed. I visited this park on June 25, 2016. The cost to get in the park was also ridiculous due to the fact there was nothing to see.

Franklin Bonilla

I went with my family in the 1st week of November - its great that its open year-round. Currently under renovations in which theyll be adding a shark exhibit in 2016, theres still plenty to see. If you come willing to learn about the animals, expect to be here an hour or two. Watching the sea lion perform was entertaining but lasted only 15 minutes. Penguins, sharks, a Walrus, and a variety of fish can be found throughout the aquarium. The Spongebob 4D movie will thrill children and is included with the price of admission or you can pay $6 to just watch the movie. Tickets are a bit cheaper online than buying at the ticket window so I would recommend buying before going. Be sure to ask what time the sea lion show and the penguin/sea otter feedings start when you get to the entrance. Some shows/exhibits might be closed or canceled due to weather so keep that in mind. For the price of admission, you cant go wrong coming here. Im looking forward to the aquariums new look in 2016.