National Aquarium, Washington

This aquarium is waste of your time and money. 1st, its in the basement of the commerce building. 2nd there are about 2 dozen tanks. You see more going to Petsmart. Save your money and time and do not go.

I stopped in briefly to escape from the rain and I was pleasantly surprised. Sure, It isn't large. But the staff is very knowledgeable and quite friendly. It really was a great addition to my day, and more than made up for the rain.

We wondered into the National Aquarium on a lark. AWFUL!! Total waste of money. I've actually seen pet shops with better displays and assortments. It is approximately 3 rooms.

With so much to see on our Spring Break, the Natl Aquarium was a welcome respite from the crowds. The cool, dark atmosphere played into my children's imaginations, as if they were truly entering an underwater excursion. I would have liked a few more signs to help answer all of the questions that my 6 and 10 year old kids were asking. The other interesting thing about the Aquarium is that it holds aquatic life that my children may actually see living in the Midwest.

This "National" Aquarium is a joke. What a waste of money to circle around a small basement once. We actually asked for our money back but the lady who barely spoke english just stared at us. DO NOT go here, you will be disappointed too.

DC National Aquarium is bad. There are a couple of empty tanks with no water in it....and the species in the aquarium is so few selection. Also why there is snakes in aquarium business? I am better of to go to aquarium shop for free instead of paying $7. Close it down, concentrate more in Baltimore Aquarium.

Despite new ownership and management, the National Aquarium in DC continues to house a rather depressing animal collection. There remain far too many aquaria that are either under-filled or empty, and the unnecessarily dark halls only highlight these deficiencies.

Some of the animals were interesting, but most were plain fish. It was a single floor, very small, totally unappealing design. We were through it in 20 minutes, even spending a generous amount of time at the more interesting exhibits. Worth about $2, not the $7 we paid.

I honestly can not believe that the National Aquarium in Washington DC is charging a fee for such a poor example of an exhibit!! This exhibit should be free to all those who visit!! If you want to charge a fee you certainly must increase the size of the exhibit! Bring in some bigger fish! People who are willing to hand out hard earned money want to see more then a tour that takes less then 5mins., Or better yet build a building just for it! Get out of the basement already!! The Baltimore National Aquarium makes DC look sad! The experiance was fun!, Although I wouldn't recommend it to others unless it was free of charge!, Everything in DC is worth the time but this one certainly is not worth the money!

What a wonderful little aquarium! If you are expecting a massive aquarium like Baltimore, then you will be disappointed. But when my children (9 & 11) visited, we had a great time. Its very approachable, uncrowded (unlike Baltimore), Metro accessible, and well designed, with a theme of replicating Marine Sanctuary sites. There was also a large freshwater exhibit, including tanks of gars and piranha. Catch the piranha feeding if you get the chance - quite impressive! The small size makes it manageable with kids, and you can linger at the tanks as long as you like, without feeling like you are blocking anyones view. It is in a basement, and it is dark, but what aquarium isn't? The gift shop is small but has some very cool stuff. The price has gone up to $7, but its still worth it.While there are other sites of higher priority if on a time limit, I recommend it for those witht he time.