Usa today 10 best readers' choice 2017.

Vote for National Aquarium Best Aquarium A walk through the National Aquarium, located in a beautiful Baltimore waterfront park, takes guests on a journey around the world. Australian exhibits showcase crocodiles, fruit bats, snapping turtles and venomous snakes, while the tropical rain forest habitat houses sloths, tamarins, tarantulas and a variety of colorful birds. The aquarium is in the process of launching the nation’s first sanctuary for bottlenose dolphins. VOTE HERE

A group of stingrays swimming in the ocean.

More Than Meets the Eye Researchers now know that the white-and-black splotches that give spotted eagle rays their common name form a pattern unique to each individual animal! This was determined using photo identification, which has also been used to show the individual qualities of humpback whales’ flukes and great white sharks’ dorsal fins. READ MORE Upcoming Events 22 FEBRUARY 22, 2017 • 6:30 PM – 9 PM Member Evening 25 MARCH 25, 2017 • 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM Project Clean Stream at Masonville Cove 1 APRIL 1, 2017 • 9 AM – 2 PM Nassawango Atlantic White Cedar Restoration 6 MAY 6, 2017Read More →

The national aquarium logo on a blue background.

Another season of the Read to Reef book club with Enoch Pratt Free Library started March 1! Read to Reef Returns The Read to Reef program offers free admission to the Aquarium for participating Baltimore children up to fifth grade with a Pratt Library card. Children read five aquatic-themed books to gain free admission to the Aquarium for themselves and up to three guests! START READING LEARN+MORE Baby Cockatiels in Australia! Three cockatiel chicks have hatched in our Australia: Wild Extremes exhibit! Weighing just two grams at birth, the chicks are now close to 90 grams and fully fledged, meaning they’ve grown their colorful feathers!Read More →

Two dolphins with a broken heart in the water.

The National Aquarium community is mourning the loss of Nani, the oldest of our Atlantic bottlenose dolphins. Late Monday afternoon, Nani began to exhibit unusual behavior. Although our animal care team responded and provided emergency care immediately, Nani was unable to recover and passed away on Monday evening. Efforts are underway to determine her cause of death. At approximately 44 years of age, Nani was the matriarch of the dolphins residing at the National Aquarium and the mother of Spirit and Beau. We feel so fortunate to have had Nani in our lives, and we are sure that many of our volunteers, members and guestsRead More →

The national aquarium logo on a blue background.

Chesapeake Bay Shows Signs of Health Published February 01, 2017 A report released last month shows the overall health of the Chesapeake Bay is better than it has been in decades! The Chesapeake Bay, the nation’s largest estuary, is evaluated every two years by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s State of the Bay report. Scientists compile data for 13 indicators in three major categories: pollution, habitat and fisheries. In this year’s report, 9 of the 13 indicators showed improvement from the last report and each of the three categories improved overall! The continued improvement of the Bay is great news for the species that call itRead More →

A group of jellyfish in a dark aquarium.

A Moment of Zen You can now tune into our Jellies Invasion exhibit from anywhere in the world! Our new jellies cam highlights the blue blubber jelly, a species that actually ranges in color from a snowy white to a dark violet. Watch these animals pulse for a minute or two and feel the stresses of the day melt away. Harbor Park Garage also covers you if you ever need National Aquarium Parking. WATCH NOW Upcoming Events: FEBRUARY 1, 2017 • 10:30 AM – 10:45 AM Tots & Tales: Turtles FEBRUARY 3, 2017 • 5 PM – 8 PM Black History Month Celebration  FEBRUARY 22, 2017Read More →

Waterblog logo on a green background.

A Side-by-Side Comparison The mix-up is understandable—both puffins and penguins are black-and-white sea birds, have an upright posture and are good swimmers. They both have names that start with “p” and end with “n.” But, the similarities between them pretty much end there. READ MORE Upcoming Events FEBRUARY 3, 2017 • 6:30 PM – 8 PM Black History Month Celebration