Virginia Aquarium

The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center is a public aquarium and marine science institution located at 717 General Booth Boulevard in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Formerly known as the Virginia Marine Science Museum, it is situated just south of Rudee Inlet. The facility offers over 800,000 gallons of exhibit space and thousands of animals representing over 300 species, displayed in educational habitats. The aquarium operates through a public-private partnership between the City of Virginia Beach and the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Foundation. Serving both tourists and the local community, the aquarium has grown from a modest regional science museum into one of the leading marine science and conservation institutions on the East Coast.

History and Development

In 1981, the Virginia Marine Science Museum Foundation was formed to partner with the City of Virginia Beach to build and operate a public aquarium. The aquarium opened on June 14, 1986, as the Virginia Marine Science Museum. It was a 41,500 square foot facility on a 9-acre site. Attendance for the first summer exceeded projections by an astonishing 45 percent, with more than 109,000 visitors in the first three months. The focus of exhibits was on life in the rivers of Virginia, Chesapeake Bay, and the marine waters just off of Virginia.

In the wake of the museum's early success, staff began planning for Phase II, a project that would triple the size of the facility to 120,000 square feet with two buildings and more than 45 acres of land. The museum also began winter whale watching trips, which created an off-season tourism industry for the City of Virginia Beach. Phase II of the Virginia Marine Science Museum opened to the public on the museum's 10-year anniversary in 1996. The expansion included the new Ocean Pavilion and its 300,000-gallon aquarium with several species of sharks, as well as a 70,000-gallon sea turtle exhibit. The new additions also included the Owls Creek Marsh Pavilion at the end of an expanded Nature Trail, emphasizing marsh creatures and birds. During the first year following the expansion, more than 692,000 people visited the newly-expanded museum, exceeding projections.

Based on the recommendations of staff and the Foundation, the Virginia Beach City Council subsequently endorsed the facility's name change to the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center. On November 21, 2009, the Virginia Aquarium opened a 12,000-square-foot series of exhibits called Restless Planet. The Restless Planet expansion includes five immersive displays: a Malaysian peat swamp, the coastal desert, a replica of the Mediterranean Sea, the 100,000-US-gallon Red Sea exhibit, and a recreation of an Indonesian volcanic island, all with hands-on exhibits intended to show the forces that shaped the Virginia landscape.

Facilities and Exhibits

The two main exhibit buildings of the aquarium are the Bay and Main Building and the South Building, connected by a one-third-mile outdoor nature trail running alongside Owls Creek Salt Marsh. Together, the two buildings are home to more than 12,000 animals representing over 700 species.

The Main Building houses displays intended to show the journey of water from the rivers of Virginia, through the Chesapeake Bay, and out into the ocean. Among its signature features is the Norfolk Canyon Aquarium. The Norfolk Canyon aquarium replicates the underwater environment of the Norfolk Canyon, a canyon roughly 70 miles off the coast of Virginia, and is home to sandbar shark, nurse shark, and sand tiger shark, as well as fish such as crevalle jack, grey triggerfish, and southern stingray. The 70,000-US-gallon Chesapeake Light Tower Aquarium replicates the underwater environment of up to about 15 miles off the coast of Virginia, and is home to loggerhead, green sea turtle, and Kemp's ridley sea turtle along with many fish including Atlantic spadefish, a large Atlantic goliath grouper, and cobia.

The Chesapeake Bay Aquarium starts with a touch pool where visitors can touch horseshoe crabs, Forbes' sea stars, and whelk, and the rest of the exhibit showcases species that live in the shallow waters around the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, including hermit crabs and spider crabs.

The South Building features new, immersive experiences with interactive exhibits, kids' play areas, touch pools, a veterinary care center, a water quality lab, and outdoor play areas. The South Building's exhibit spaces introduce species including the Pacific sea nettle jellyfish, decorator crab, mantis shrimp, and cuttlefish. The South Building also features North American river otters, a red octopus, and moon jellies, and gives guests behind-the-scenes access to the Vet Center, Stranding Response Program, and Water Quality Lab.

Another visitor highlight is a National Geographic 3-D theater presenting educational documentaries and Hollywood film releases.

Nature Trail

Guests are invited to enjoy a peaceful one-third-mile Nature Trail connecting the Main Building to the South Building. The trail contains an elevated tower and several decks that extend out over the water to enhance views of the marsh and osprey nesting platforms along Owl Creek. Portions of the boardwalk meander through a woodland habitat complete with pine, oak, and maple trees as well as a wide variety of native flowers, and quiet visitors are bound to spot a number of land birds and marshland animals that frequent the shores of Owl Creek.

The Adventure Park

Adjacent to the main aquarium campus is the Adventure Park at Virginia Aquarium. The first of its kind in Virginia, the Adventure Park transforms five acres of forest surrounding the Virginia Aquarium with more than 170 platforms connected by bridge crossings, rope courses, zip lines, and more. It features over 250 elements, as well as over 30 ziplines, the longest of which runs over 300 feet over the nearby creek. With 15 treetop trails suited to a range of skill levels, the Adventure Park welcomes visitors of all ages to explore at their own pace, providing a complete safety orientation, gear, and tips for self-guided discovery.

Conservation, Research, and Stranding Response

Conservation and scientific research are central to the aquarium's mission. The Aquarium is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums, and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Stranding Response Program coordinates responses for all marine mammals and sea turtles that come ashore in Virginia, whether sick, injured, dead, or entangled and unable to safely return to their natural habitat. This nationally-recognized team of staff, volunteers, and cooperating agencies works 24 hours every day and 365 days per year, responding to and providing exceptional medical care for live strandings, and biomedical and forensic examinations of dead stranded animals. Since the program's inception more than 30 years ago, the team has responded to over 10,000 stranded marine mammals and sea turtles.

Strandings in Virginia have included four species of seals, including harbor and harp seals; 27 species of cetaceans, including harbor porpoise, bottlenose dolphin, humpback whale, and right whale; Florida manatee; and five species of sea turtles, including loggerhead and Kemp's ridley turtles.

Virginia Beach is home to the Darden Marine Animal Conservation Center (DMACC), a state-of-the-art marine animal conservation center. The Virginia Aquarium dedicated the new facility to support the animals rescued by its Stranding Response Program. The new center is the first facility on the East Coast that handles sea turtle and seal rehabilitation and necropsies in one location.

Staff at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge Complex work closely with the stranding team from the Virginia Aquarium in order to respond to marine mammal and sea turtle strandings on the coast of Virginia. Sea turtles rehabilitated, tagged with satellite transmitters, and released into the Atlantic Ocean by the Virginia Aquarium are tracked on Seaturtle.org.

From AZA initiatives like the Species Survival Program and SAFE to coral restoration with SECORE and university projects, the Aquarium plays a vital role in this important conservation work.

Boat Tours and Seasonal Programming

As leaders in coastal and marine environment conservation, the Virginia Aquarium's seasonal boat tours have immersed guests in unique aquatic experiences since 1989. Whale watching boat trips are available from December through mid-March, and dolphin watching boat trips run from late March through October. Staffed by knowledgeable educators engaged in responsible viewing practices, research, and conservation, the boat tours bring passengers close to commonly observed species like humpback whales and bottlenose dolphins, as well as a variety of seabirds and waterfowl. A 65-foot catamaran, the Atlantic Explorer, is located on the property and offers seasonal excursions.

For guests, schools, educators, and families, the Aquarium offers an extensive array of educational programs onsite, virtually, and via outreach programs which include activities designed to foster conservation and an appreciation of local natural resources. Over 650,000 people from surrounding communities and around the world visit the Aquarium annually.

Governance and Structure

The City of Virginia Beach owns the aquarium's buildings and provides administrative support, while the Foundation owns, procures, and maintains the animals and exhibits. The Foundation is also responsible for fundraising efforts and various scientific research, education, and conservation projects. The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports the work of the Virginia Aquarium. The Aquarium's stated mission is to connect people to the marine environment, inspiring a more sustainable future, and it aspires to be a driver in conservation, education, tourism, and sustainability, leading the charge to save wildlife and their ecosystems.