Miami Aquarium
Swimming with dolphins and seals, feeding sharks and rays, stroking penguins and immersing yourself in the colorful world of coral reefs – the Miami Aquarium brings the wildest fantasies to life. When it opened in 1955, it was the largest oceanarium in the world, though at the time there were only three attractions: a dolphin pool, a shark channel and a reef aquarium. Now the huge park is home to thousands of marine animals, and to get acquainted with all its inhabitants, it takes at least 4 hours.
In popularity, the Miami Aquarium is second only to the American Disneyland: every year it is visited by 500 thousand people.
The calling card of the aquarium – performances with dolphins. In the Rock’n’Roll Cruise show water fighters perform acrobatic tricks in unison, and in the famous show Flipper’s Beach Bash together with dolphins are performing trained whales and the oldest inhabitant of the aquarium – killer whale Lolita, who lives here since 1970.
In the mid-60s, the TV series Flipper, about the boy’s friendship with a dolphin, was filmed in the marine park.
The Aquarium has many interactive programs for the whole family: for a fee you can walk along the seafloor and watch the bright tropical fish, interact with a talking parrot and feed the giant crocodiles.
The Miami Aquarium has become not only a popular entertainment center, but also a haven for rare and endangered creatures. Specialists save manatees, seals, and sea turtles: injured and sick animals are examined, treated and nursed, and then sent back into the ocean.
Many of the Park’s residents even breed in captivity: the first manatee was born here in 1975, and the first Pacific dolphin in 2002.
Address: 4400 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami.
Getting there: Take bus 102; drive I-95 South (north) or US1 North (south).
Hours of operation: daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission for adults: $47.99 USD, children ages 3 to 9: $37.99 USD, children under 3: free.
