Oregon Coast Aquarium

Website:

aquarium.org

Primary links on the website are; Visit, Experience, Education, Join & Support, and About Us. It's good they include a link to their education programs, but unlike some other aquarium sites they do not have a link to the conservation projects/partners. It would be nice to see a link to that.
The animal fact sheets are there and are fairly complete, representing most of the species at the facility, but they are tedious to find. One must click onto the pages about the exhibits, then scroll to the bottom to find links to fact sheets for the animals in that exhibit. No master list.
Unfortunately, there is no available map for the aquarium. In fact, they do not even have a map available for handout at the ticket counter. They only have large maps posted around the facility.

Now you can see a map.

Admission Prices:

      Adult (18-64 years)       $22.95

      Seniors (65+)                 $19.95

      Young Adults (13-17)   $19.95

      Child (3-12)                   $14.95

      Infants + Toddlers (0-2)  Free

     ~ extra fees for renting strollers, wheelchairs, or scooters. 

     ~ extra fees for special activities, such as animal encounters, behind the scenes tour, overnight stays, 

        and diving in the tanks.

Hours:

      May 28 - Sept 5       10am - 6pm

      Sept 6 - May 26       10am - 5pm

     Open every day except Christmas

Aquarium:

The Oregon Coast Aquarium is located in an estuary along the coast. There is a bus stop right near the entrance, so for locals it can be accessible by bus. The parking lot is also close to the entrance. The aquarium itself is on mostly level ground and is almost entirely accessible for those in wheelchairs or with other mobility restraints. There are a few places with stairs, but there is always a way around via a sloped path. 

Food can be bought in either the cafe by the main entrance or at a couple of food cart stands just outside the exit of the Passages of the Deep exhibit. (there is a joke to be made there somewhere, but it is a little dirty for a review) The Cafe is generic cafe and fast food stuff, and the food carts are things like popcorn and ice cream. Both places have seating, the outdoor area has covered tables. 

There is really only one play area for kids. It is an area off the side of the nature trail with cement and metal statues of animals that kids can climb on. Not very impressive and it must get insanely crowded on busy days. 

This tide pool simulator doesn't count as a play area
because the signs say "do not climb on rocks"

Restrooms are clearly marked on the map, no complaints there.

Exhibits:

All the exhibits were fashioned in a way to show the type of habitat the animals live in. Huge fake rock formations connected the marine mammals and the aviary, with native plants planted in the crevices and labeled for identification. Because the aquarium was built in an area that is part of an estuary, the green spaces within its walls are planted accordingly. A pond houses freshwater plants and the invertebrates that call those places home. Insects skated over the pool in the creek that runs along the path to the aquarium entrance. A nature trail winds along one side of the facility, complete with lookouts over the tidal flats and laminated trail guides. The whole place feels very nature friendly.

Lookout over the estuary

Of course, as an aquarium there are a lot of indoor exhibits. There are four main buildings/exhibits; Sandy Shores, Rocky Shores, Coastal Waters, and Passages of the Deep. The first three buildings are full of smaller tanks, mostly well lit and easy to see for young children and those in wheelchairs. A few smaller tanks are a bit high up the wall. 

The identification signs in the first three buildings were the best I have yet seen at an aquarium. They had almost all the animals in each area and included a picture, the common name, and the scientific name. There were also more general information signs about the habitats and ecosystems found in these areas.

An example of the signs at Rocky Shores

Rocky Shores included a good sized touch pool in the center of the room, watched over by very helpful aquarium staff and complete with a hand sanitizing station around the back. 

One of the most popular exhibits at the aquarium is the Passages of the Deep area, where visitors walk through a tunnel passing through three large tanks. Two contain fishes from the local waters, and the other has sharks and rays. At the time I was there, I saw no aquarium staff to answer questions. The signs were ok. Like the other indoor areas, there are large signs explaining the habitats, but the animal identification signs were small, out of the way, and only contained the common names with drawings of the species. 

The tunnel

Species identification including the scientific name was only present in the Sandy Shores, Rocky Shores, and Coastal Waters buildings. Everywhere else only included the common names. I think this is a problem as it may confuse international visitors. Different places have different common names for the same species. 

I was able to attend a few animal presentations/feedings, including the pelican presentation, the seal feeding, sea otter feeding, and the aviary feeding. All the presentations were 100% educational, with the pelican and aviary presentations having time for additional questions from the audience. The training and tricks shown during the presentations were either for ease of handling the animals (medical examinations, etc.) or for exercise and mental stimulation. The sea lion tricks were a little more focused on entertaining the crowd, but were mixed in with the medical examination training so was done more as a mental challenge for the animal, not just entertainment for the humans. 

Target training with a brown pelican

There were almost always aquarium staff members wandering around, available to answer questions and talk about the animals or to keep people in line and off the rocks during keeper talks. 

The only stereotyping behaviors I saw were in some of the marine mammals, the harbor seals swam in looping patterns and one of the three sea otters did so as well. As always, I cannot know for certain if this is because of the exhibit they are in or from a previous living situation. I believe a few of the sharks were also swimming in consistent patterns. 

As far as aquariums go, this one is pretty good for photography. Most of the indoor exhibits are well lit, though the Passages of the Deep tunnel is of curved glass with lower lighting that makes it very difficult to get clear shots of anything moving. 

The exhibits with open air viewing are the aviary (my favorite), the touch pool, and a small portion of the sea otter area.

The seal and sea lion exhibit has glass only viewing, and the vulture area is all mesh.

The giant pacific octopus exhibit is the worse for photography. It is located in a dark "cave" tunnel and is not lit. Good luck even finding the octopus. (flash photography is prohibited in that area)

Exhibit highlight:

The aviary is amazing. It is an open air path between two pools with low glass walls that allow you to see the birds swimming underwater, but also see them up close and personal over the edge of the glass. A couple puffins regularly bathe themselves right near the glass, spraying visitors with water. I am amazed that the exhibit is still up and running because it is possible to lean over and touch the birds, they get that close, but there have been no such incidents as far as I know. So I thank all the adults who are respectful and keep kids away from the animals. They make this great exhibit possible. 

Overall this is a great little aquarium in a beautiful location. It is accessible by car or bus. The paths and exhibits are almost all easily accessible by wheelchair. There are places to buy food or bring your own and sit and eat either outside or inside. The aviary is perfect for photographers. Staff members regularly walk around and are available for answering questions. The animal presentations are educational. I would have liked to have a map handout or at least have been able to look at the map on their website to better plan my visit, but the on-site maps were easy to read.

Last but not least, I did not have to exit through the gift shop! In fact, there are two gift shops, one near the entrance/exit that does have an exit inside, and another one at the exit to the Passages of the Deep exhibit (I had to exit the exhibit through that one). 

 

Green anemone