The Aquarium of the Bay is a dynamic, engaging aquarium located on Pier 39, along San Francisco’s thriving waterfront. The aquarium aims to provide people with unforgettable marine life encounters in order to foster a sense of wonder and a desire to protect San Francisco’s Bay along with the creatures that live there. The 50,000-square-foot building sustains more than 20,000 sea creatures, from tiny jellyfish to huge sharks. This popular waterfront destination attracts more than 600,000 visitors each year and is a highlight for most waterfront visitors.
Exhibits
The Aquarium of the Bay is divided into three distinct parts:
- Discover the Bay: This area features eight exhibits and more than a thousand aquatic animals. Visit some of California’s most colorful marine species, including the Garibaldi, California’s state fish. Discover the Bay is also home to the aquarium's nursery, where you will find many of the aquarium’s newborns and juveniles.
- Under the Bay: This section allows you to explore the San Francisco Bay through a series of tunnels beneath the water. Here you will find beautiful sea stars, swirling anchovies, and thousands of jellyfish. This exhibit also features the smartest marine mammal in the bay, the Giant Pacific Octopus.
- Touch the Bay: This area is a series of hands-on exhibits, sure to delight young and old. Curious visitors will get a chance to stroke bat rays, swell sharks, and skates as they meander through the many shallow pools. This exhibit is also home to the PG&E Bay Lab. The lab features a few land dwellers such as the pygmy hedgehog, California kingsnake, and pink-toed tarantulas.
The aquarium’s newest exhibit, Otters: Watershed Ambassadors, opened in 2013. Here you can watch and interact with these playful marine mammals and learn what makes them so special to the marine ecosystem.
Further Information
In addition to these fabulous exhibits, the Aquarium of the Bay offers daily visitor programs, 3D films, and behind the scenes tours. The aquarium is open every day of the year except Christmas. In the summer, it is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. This is the aquarium’s busiest season, but early morning and late evening are relatively quiet all year round. Aquarium tickets are good for the whole day so many visitors leave for lunch to stroll around the waterfront before coming back in the evening. In the winter months, the aquarium shortens its hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Public parking is available at Pier 35 or at the Pier 39 garage.
Discount tickets can be found at various locations throughout the city as well as through many hotel packages. Cheaper tickets are also available to local residents, members of the military, and groups of 10 or more.
