Top Ten Reasons to Visit

10) Full Moon Pier Walk

Learn about the history and scientific uses of the Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Research Pier on a guided tour along its platform. Though this La Jolla landmark is usually closed to the public for oceanographic research, we will walk the length of the pier under the full moon and take water samples, collect plankton, observe sea conditions, and explore the nocturnal habits of marine life. Full Moon Pier Walks are offered seasonally. Please check the calendar for dates and times and join us!

9) Wonders of Water

Roll up your sleeves and experience rippling, streaming water in three, outdoor waterplay stations. Build dams and create rapids. Design watersheds, but watch out for floods and landslides! Imaginations will overflow as guests of all ages explore water, a powerful force influenced by nature and people.

8) Family Days

Discover a program all ages can enjoy together. Family Days merges Earth and ocean sciences with art and literacy themes by presenting unique programs that include hands-on activities, crafts, demonstrations, and interactions with researchers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Family Days is FREE with admission on the third Saturday of each month from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

7) Coral Reefs

Tiny coral polyps-close relatives of the anemone-build coral reefs by producing limestone skeletons. Coral reefs are alive and require clear water so that sunlight can penetrate for optimum growth. Corals are found worldwide in waters where constant temperatures are 70-86 degrees. Birch Aquarium at Scripps raises its own corals, a delicate and intensive process, but worth every effort. Discover fishes and living corals with clever names like maze coral, great star coral, and red tree sponge. Relive your tropical vacation and visit the aquarium's living coral displays.

6) Tide-Pool Plaza Discovery Center

Tide pools exist in the rocky basins at the ocean's edge and are home to many animals who survive tremendous changes in moisture, temperature, and salinity. These pools are exposed and hidden as the tides cycle between low and high, approximately every six hours. Birch Aquarium's outdoor tide-pool plaza is a great place to view these animals in their natural environment. The tide-pool Discovery Center offers opportunities to touch tide-pool animals. Aquarium naturalists are onhand to answer questions about this unique habitat and the marine life that calls it home.

5) Sharks

From sleek cruisers of tropical reefs to leopard sharks lurking in the giant kelp forest tank, we've got sharks! Sharks are the most feared and admired predators of the sea; the subject of a complex, human fascination for the 370 species that exist worldwide. The aquarium's species of sharks include swell, nurse, leopard, horn, shovelnose guitarfish, angel, whitetip reef, blacktip reef, and wobbegongs.

4) Public Programs

From whale watching to monthly oceanographic discovery presentations, Birch Aquarium's public programs offer a range of opportunities for people of all ages to learn more about our ocean environment and Scripps Oceanographic research. For a complete listing and for more information, visit our events calendar online.

3) Scripps Explorers Gallery

The aquarium's museum features rotating gallery exhibitions based upon cutting-edge research by Scripps Institution of Oceanography explorers. Learn the latest in ocean, Earth, and climate sciences through the gallery's fun, interactive and educational displays and explore why these discoveries are relevant to you.

2) Kelp Tank Feeding Shows (Tuesdays and Thursdays at 12:30, Saturdays at 2 pm, Sundays at 10:30)

Watch as Scripps divers take the plunge into the aquarium's 70,000-gallon kelp forest tank in a half-hour show about La Jolla's kelp forest habitat. You'll learn about "underwater" San Diego as divers spotlight the interesting animals and plants within. Divers also discuss the health and beauty of San Diego's amazing offshore "amber forests". The kelp forest habitat comes alive when the divers descend, feeding the fishes and answering your questions about the oceans.

1) The View

Located on a coastal bluff overlooking La Jolla Shores beach and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Birch Aquarium at Scripps is renowned for its ocean views, both inside and out. Visitors from around the world are inspired by the marine life and science exhibits, from animals that "hide and go seek" to displays on the latest oceanographic research, and more. Make a visit to Birch Aquarium at Scripps soon and enjoy San Diego's "best ocean views."