The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk

“My wife and I took our one and half year old daughter to the Norwalk Maritime Aquarium yesterday and had a blast. It was great to see all the animals. Our daughter loved the meerkats, otters and the sloth. Lots of things to do there and plenty of other families doing the same as us which was showing our daughter all the amazing animals. I particularly liked the giant sea turtles and so did my wife. I grabbed a pretzel on the way out and it was so good. We also bought our daughter a meerkat plushie and she loves it. I highly recommend you check this place out if you are visiting Norwalk or in the nearby area. Five out of five stars.”

“My favorite aquarium in new england (because they have sharks!). Can easily spend 3 hours seeing everything, and have knowledgeable staff who can answer any questions you may have. Good jellyfish collection. Unless you're going with children, highly recommended going at a time when k-12 school is in session - markedly quieter and more enjoyable.”

“This place is not too large but there is so much to see and learn! We were able to touch the stingrays, jellyfish and the sturgeon. Spectacular. The jellyfish were memorizing to watch and we were estatic they have sea horses! There are sharks, seals, turtles and all kinds of fish to look at. There is also some land animals on the second floor and we had a good laugh watching the meerkats in action. The staff was very knowledgeable and passionate about their work and the mission of the aquarium and they are happy to answer any questions. It makes for a nice day for families with children or even adults only. Not too much walking, but enough to get some energy out. There is a elevator. There is a cafe with snacks and sandwiches, a gift shop, and water refilling stations so bring your reusable water bottle. Restrooms too and they were clean. The Imax theater is an extra cost and parking is across the street in a pay to park garage for the aquarium.”

“We finally made it here after years of defaulting to Mystic, and now I’m mad at myself for not trying this sooner. Total hidden gem for us. First win.... most of it is indoors. Huge deal when you live in New England and never know if it’s going to rain, snow, or randomly be 97 degrees and humid. I’ll take climate control any day. The jellyfish tanks are awesome. Hypnotizing. I could’ve stood there forever if my toddler didn’t have other plans. And there are way more touch tanks than I expected -rays, mystery critters, all the poking and splashing that keeps kids happy. Place was clean, staff was friendly, stroller was easy to push around, and it’s the perfect size... enough to see without feeling like you’re on a 12-hour field trip. We’ve only gone once so far, but this instantly got added to our “rainy day / random day off” list.”