National Aquarium in Baltimore, Baltimore

My family and I really enjoyed the aquarium. We purchased our tickets ahead of time, so we didn't have to wait to get in. We arrived at 10:45 AM, so we were able to find parking less than a block away (at a price of $8./HR)- it wasn't a pkg garage, but one of those outdoor, smaller lots. We have a 13 month old son, and were disappointed that strollers weren't allowed. We thought that would make for a difficult time, since our son isn't walking yet, but found it to be a non issue after watching him enjoying every thing he was seeing so much that he didn't mind being carried. Even being so young, he loved pointing at the sharks, turtle, frogs, etc. He was very entertained, as we were, to say the least. There were also several open areas where we could let him down, where he could stand, and put his fingers up against the glass, looking at all the fish. We purchased a magnet and a child's t-shirt, which were typical gift shop prices that you'd find at any aquarium in America. Lunch was a bit pricey at their cafe- $3.00 for a bottle water, $9.99 for a panini, $6.25 for a hoagie. I thought it would be more crowded, but it was a Saturday, so there were no school tours, etc.; and it was a rainy day, so maybe less people wanted to venture out to the inner harbor. We were able to see the displays easily, getting right up to them. We did not do the Dolphin show, because we thought that since it was an aquarium, that that kind if thing should be part of the package. We stayed about three to four hours total. It was a lot of fun and we'd recommend it to any of our friends who have kids, even little ones.

We took our 2 1/2 year old grandson and he was excited about seeing the dolphin show. We saw about 5 min's of the dolphins preforming tricks and abut 15 min's of watching the big tv screen about how dolphins are trained. Our grandson became antsy because he was too young to really understand the tv screen. It was a waste of money. The aquarium was o.k but I have been to bigger and better. We did enjoy it. We ate at one of the cafe's and of course, it was over priced and the food was blah.

We are from Boston, MA. Our aquarium is great but yours is superior in almost every way In spite of the cost, we loved the exhibits. Our VA grandchildren(5+7) were delighted with the place....THEN we went to the Dolphin Show. We figured it would be the highlight of our $90 day.....NOT!!!Sooo much talk;so little dolphin!! Education is vital but not to the extent of 4/5ths of the show. Our grandsons were the average age of the kids in attendance. They were SOOOO disappointed as were we! We have been to other shows in Florida/Boston etc...this was WAY below expectations. Sooo much so, that I am writing this e-mail. PLEASE reevaluate this presentation.As it was the last thing on our visit, it left a real sour taste. Finally, we gave our kids the receipt thinking they might take an annual membership. If they do...I can assure you they will NOT be going to the Dolphin Show Thanks for allowing me to vent...and please understand...lots of people in the audience shared our view...not many will take the time to write!

Me and family - wife and 3yo daughter - are from Brooklyn, NY. We've been visiting Baltimore so decided to see Aquarium... Oh my God... That place is just a wasting a money, wow... we paid something around $70 to get in... I thought as far I know prices for a tickets in a places liek that - Im professional Photographer - I said to my wife: I believe tahts gonna be something really good cuz its little expensive so we can expect something really nice and special... after 10 minuts I said that something is wrong and we probably kind of lost and we just didn't see exhibitions yeat cuz Aquarium is so big... eeeeee wrong... that was main exhibition... it took us maybe an hour to walk around Aquarium and see everything... but the biggest surprise was ahead and called: Dolphin Show... I think the biggest attraction of the Aquarium was Clown Fish... and thats probably it... no more nice tropical exhibitions... I start asking stuff members where is Jelly Fish Exhibition... ok there is no Jelly Fish Exhibition... in National Aquarium in Baltimore you`'' not find any Jelly Fish... I was shocked.... I was so disappointed.... I haven't seen nothing interesting in this Aquarium... maybe Rays tank was something nice but for $30 a person i expected to see something more than Rays and one Clown Fish... ok but the best I left for end.. Dolphin Show... about 15-20 minutes show... u`ll see 4 dolphins 2 Jumps for the whole show and one "splashing round" 95% of the Dolphin Show is a watching document movie about Dolphins.... that was too much for me... for over $70 i saw one Clown Fish, Rays Tank, 4 dolphins and no "dolphin show" thats all I saw for over $70 My 3 yo daughter after the show asked me " "Daddy u told me we will see a Dolphins and jumps.... but I haven't seen any dolphins" ... That was crazy, that was the worst museum - aquarium I have ever Seen in my life.... we start comparing National Aquarium to our small Aquarium on Coney Island in NYC... for less than half price in Coney Island u`'' see exactly the same exhibitions like in Baltimore plus u`'' see Jelly Fish Exhibition, Sharks are not in dark cave, tropical exhibitions, u`'ll see probably around 50 Clown Fish, very nice outside exhibitions, there is no Dolphin Show but there is free sal show 30 minutes of fun and tricks Dolphins just can dream to be good like seals from Coney Island Aquarium.... My advice : Don't go there... Take your kid to toy store and make him hapy for a months for that over $70....

The Baltimore Aquarium has terrific exhibits and a huge variety of aquatic life on display. You'd spend half as much money on a movie and not see anything live, so the price seems reasonable by that standard. We spent about 3 hours total in the building, and that was without seeing any of the add-on shows. Highly recommended.

Overpriced and the Frog and Australian "special exhibits" were small in scope and not particularly SPECIAL. The so called Dolphin show was really a disappointment - why hold back animals whose natural instinct is to show off? We've tried this aquarium on numerous occasions - especially with out-of-town guests and have always been disappointed. Save your $$$ for a trip to The Monterey Bay Aquarium or The Shedd - either one of these aquariums can easily qualify on a "National" level.Oh, and don't forget The Ducks - now there is $$$ well spent.

If you go on a weekend, buy your ticket AHEAD of time online. Make sure you book any of the shows too, otherwise they will be sold out when you get to the ticket booth. It was severly crowded and fellow ticket holders were inconsiderate of others...i.e. standing in the middle of walkways, escalators, ramps, windows, etc. As for the aquarium, one time visiting is enough. It was...ok. I wasn't too impressed, especially for the price.

The National Aquarium is a place you visit once to say you've done it. It's overpriced for what you see and leaves you a little disappointed. It's not the aquarium;s fault, though - it is suffering from an obvious lack of funding and it shows. The "Australia" exhibit consisted of glass cases with snakes and lizards sitting on folding tables in a hallway. The 4D show is a good concept but comes up short -- It sprays water and air at you while watching a brief documentary on whales -- however, despite the supplied 3D glasses, the show is not actually 3D (only the 10-second intro is true 3D). The dolphin show: if you've never seen a dolphin show and just really love dolphins, you may like this one - it's a bit simple and anticlimactic compared to other parks, though. Overall the aquarium seemed a bit outdated and not well cared for we thought.

I went by myself and it was so, so. You see all the animals you normally see in the typical aquarium. They did have an extensive frog collection. Kids would be way more impressed than adults. If you are an adult, make sure to see the dolphin show (it lasts almost 30 minutes) and the 4-D theater show. Those were the 2 biggest highlights. The rainforest section was nice. The Australian section didn't have much to it that you didn't already see in the rest of the aquarium.

This aquarium is by far the best I've ever been to! It is absolutely awesome! My family and I had a great time here.... over 5 hours!!! Lots to look at it. And if you can... catch the dolphin show! It was the highlight of our day!