Description
Looking for the best things to do with kids in Bournemouth? The Oceanarium is a premier family-friendly aquarium located right on the seafront next to the historic Bournemouth Pier. It features thousands of amazing aquatic animals from around the globe, spanning immersive zones from the Amazon to the Great Barrier Reef.
Online admission prices start from £8.75 for children aged 3-15 and £13.99 for adults, offering substantial savings compared to gate prices.
If you are looking for the best place for a day out with family and kids on the Dorset coast, this fully indoor aquarium combines education, interactive touch pools, and rare wildlife encounters under one roof.
Features
- Paid
- Host birthday parties: Yes
Features
What makes the Oceanarium unique?
- Interactive touch pools allowing children to get hands-on with marine invertebrates and learn about aquatic ecosystems.
- Underwater tunnel experience where families can walk beneath gliding sharks, stingrays, and green sea turtles.
- Educational day out settings featuring global aquatic habitats, conservation projects, and daily keeper talks.
- Seamless seafront location right on Pier Approach, making it easy to combine with a beach walk.
What are the top 5 highlights to see?
- What can you see in the Great Barrier Reef Tunnel? This walk-through underwater tunnel puts families right in the middle of a vibrant coral ecosystem. Children love watching massive green sea turtles, blacktip reef sharks, and colourful reef fish swim right overhead.
- How do Humboldt Penguins bring coastal fun to life? The outdoor Penguin Beach exhibit lets families watch a colony of lively Humboldt penguins dive, swim, and waddle about. Viewing windows above and below the water give children a clear look at how fast these birds move.
- What makes the Amazon River zone exciting? This lush, warm zone recreates a South American rainforest filled with free-roaming wildlife. Kids can spot giant pacu fish, curious poison dart frogs, and agile dwarf caimans hiding among tropical plants.
- What is unique about the Interactive Dive Show? Daily scheduled sessions allow visitors to watch trained divers enter the main display tank. Children enjoy waving to the divers underwater while staff members talk through an audio system about how they care for the marine life.
- Where can you find the playful Otter oasis? The Asian short-clawed otter exhibit is a firm favourite for younger children. Families can watch the energetic otters zip through the water, play with enrichment items, and interact playfully with each other.
25.00 miles
