Reviews of Maine State Aquarium (Tourist Attraction)

Jennifer Rippel

Friendly staff who were very willing to share all their knowledge on the various marine life. Interactive for young ones, and adults who are young at heart!

Keegan Markart

It was smaller than the one I go to in North Carolina, but really cool touch tanks and the little show about lobsters was awesome. In the back of the aquarium, if it's nice out, you can go fishing and crabbing! We caught 5 different crabs and learned how to do cool knots.

Caryn Pellerin

Great for younger kids! Not a whole lot of displays, but they offer a really cool touch tank, and a tank of sturgeons you can pet. They usually have a "lecture" where they teach you about different sea animals. Last time we went it was on Lobsters and Lobstering. You can also go to the peir and fish! We go every year! Also the price of admission is VERY reasonable!

Simon Lowther

Fantastic place to go with the family it's cheap and small but the staff are great and the touch tanks keep the kids entranced for hours

Joan Lawrence

Much smaller than expected, big building but only small portion for public. What was there, was very cool!

Kristie Roberts

Touching the animals was really cool. Very knowledgeable staff. Enjoyed the lobster presentation. Very fairly priced.

Barb Yahn

It's a nice aquarium, just small.

D. G.

It was okay. Nothing special, nothing especially wrong. I think they over sold and under delivered.

Gwenevere Nugent

Many native sea animals and a well thought out process. This is a great place to bring your k8da if you are in the area. My little brother came, and he couldn't get enough of it! You can interact with the animals and learn about them throughout the building. Loved.

Don Collette

Just watched the 4th fireworks from there

Georgia S

Tried to visit, but when we arrived, the aquarium was closed. There was no recording on their voice mail saying they were closed. It was very inconvenient to arrive only to find out they were not opened.

Daniel Sinclair

It was a really nice place to learn about marine life in Maine, I grew up here and had no idea we had over 2000 types of fish or sharks, everyone there was informative and the touch tank was nice, only thing I wish is that there was a place to clean my hands off with soap, I understand why because of kids not reading the signs or people not paying attention.

Diane Fleming

learned everything about lobsters and industry

Amy Simpson

Great little aquarium. They do a lot with their small space. Make sure to check out the activities on the fishing pier.

David Sherman

This is great place to visit!

William Dawe II

Fun for all, great learning and even a behind the scenes walk was awesome great work

Samuel hawkes

Nice little place with lots of fun stuff for young kids. Very fun and friendly.

Emma Schwingle

The Maine State Aqauruim is such a wonderful place for anyone and everyone. Every summer, it is tradition for my family and I to go and visit. I highly recommend going to anyone.

Morgan Maxwell

Very cool to see indigenous animals of Maine, but the aquarium is very small! Wish it was a little bit bigger. They have some very cool tank setups, a touch tank, and nice staff.

mag 226

Small place but very informative. Lots of info on the Maine lobster fishing

Cheryl Lebeau

Native Maine spieces. Touch tanks. Fishing off dock. Hawling of your own Lobster traps.

Leslie Greene

Love this place! Small as far as aquariums go. And was very crowded at the busy times. The touch tanks are AMAZING. We spent hours at them. The sharks were so much fun. I could have pet them for days. It was really cool, you could go fishing off the dock. They supplied everything. They had a craft section, and different presentations. Definitely can't wait to go back.

Taffy Maron

What a fun, interesting, educational place to go. Staff is terrific, plenty of free parking. Enjoyed visiting so much.

David Holwick

Very hands-on and great for kids. Also gives an opportunity to fish for free.

Giovanni Boezio

Small but awesome, kids loved to touch the small sharks

Fendr1962

The Aquarium itself is quite small but still interesting. But the tour was fabulous. Wished I had the young lady’s name that did a fantastic job on laying out the history of the Aquarium. She gave enough detail to keep one interested but did not go so deep as to bore you. In addition she was quite humorous. She really knows her stuff as she could answer any question quite easily. Thank you.

David Collamore

Fantastic place to bring the kids and meet some aquatic wildlife!

Georgia Bailey

A very small aquarium, but worth the visit. Staff were very friendly and informative. Great for young kids who can touch the sea creatures.

Diane Gauthier

Had a blast,small but worth the cheap price..

Andrew Sawchuk

This aquarium is pretty small, so don't expect anything as big as the Boston aquarium or anything like that. The entire thing is basically one big room. That said, it's really cheap and they do have a few cool things, including a blue lobster, a two-tone lobster, and a touch tank with sharks and all kinds of other stuff. They also have free catch and release fishing off a pier on the property.

Fidik Vien

Small but fun for big and little kids

Bobby the barber

Super kid friendly

Sarah Ruth

Great for family time and kids will love everything about it

Robyn Pellican

Staff was friendly and informative!

Kaylee DeLiguori

A small but fun and affordable educational stop, especially good for families.

Lee Murray

Great place to spend a few hours with the family, the touch tank is a immersive experience my 9 year old loved. Fishing off the pier was just an added bonus.

Warren Bennett

Interesting Maine stuff, I liked the area where you can touch the different kinds of fish such as sturgeon and a skate. That was really cool when the skate wags it's tail just like a dog when you touched it. It is not huge but very educational

meghan gilbert

Everyone in Maine should visit this place, probably, once a year? It's so awesome!

Mary Heym

Can not wait to bring the grankids

Neil

The Maine state is aquarium is not a large place my any means, however, every inch of the property is kept in great condition, the staff are really friendly and helpful. You can see a few dozen or so variety of sea life that Maine has to offer and learn too, you can go fishing off the back peer (this is a part of the aquarium, please check with them before showing up to recreationally fish, I'm not sure it's allowed here). It's worth taking a look! They have ample parking, beautiful views, and enough fishy stuff to keep the family entertained for a couple hours.

David Pigeon

Great little place for small kids to spend a little time. Great little touch tanks to handle and touch different sea life, pack for a picnic and have lunch there, the views of the harbor are spectacular.

Heather B

Very small but it was nice. The staff was great and taught my son about everything in the touch tank. There is also a pier where you can go fishing.

Sheena Foster

G te eat place to bring my 6 yr old daughter

Karen Drwila

It was closed for the season, even though their website said they were open.

jamie.jen .libby

Had a great time.

TnV Sao

Absolutely love this place! Check out the 14lb Lobster Neptune. The views outside are amazing and the Aquarium inside is so much fun to experience. Even for return trips. Didn't do everything available, but it's worth the drive.

Ben Mathieu

The aquarium was awesome my son absolutely loved it very good variety of sea life and most of it you are able to touch

Jason Knapp

Bring the family every Memorial Day, touch tank and shark 2 finger touch tank. Not the biggest, but a walk down town after makes a day of it.

Maria Bongco

Very interesting and informative. It doesn't have a lot of variety but Bob the guy by the horseshoe crab area answered all of our questions and more. He is a plethora of information. Negative is, there was supposed to be a lobster presentation but didn't happen. We waited for 22 minutes by the deck where they said it was gonna be held but couldn't wait anymore and we left.

Roy Mustang

The tiniest aquarium I have ever been to. Also one of the most fun. The main feature is two different touch tanks, one with sharks, skates, and lobsters. The other with starfish, sea cucumbers, lobsters, crabs, scallops, and more. My girlfriend and I really loved both of them and spent a good amount of time at them. The attendants at both tanks were super friendly, knowledgable, and fun to talk to. Would go back. It was very reasonably priced.

Michael Douin

Very delightful. Small and quaint which increases the appeal. Great experience

April Hurst

A top family favorite!

Melissa Grant

Cute place to bring young kids. I was hoping there would be way more fish and much bigger tanks but for my 2 year old it was enjoyable and admission was really low. They have a really nice area outside right on the water for picnics and such, my son loved to watch the boats in the harbor.

John Christophel

Learned a lot. Wonderful place to see local sea creatures plus Harvey a 27 pound lobster

C Ingram

Took my grandkids here yesterday, they loved it! Very educational & hands on! Well worth the small admission. Recommend 100 %

Heather Nantell

A great place to be able to touch sea life and very knowledgeable about them I loved it

Nicholas McDowell

Great place for kids, there are lots of fun things to do like a touch/feel tank, fishing off the pier, lobster/crab traps to haul up from the harbor, shark petting, and lots of different species to view.

Roger Greenlaw

I was disappointed with my stop here. I remember the aquarium as a child was a good place to visit. Unfortunately the staff didn't see the need to tell us that half the exhibition was closed for repairs until after they collected the admission fees. They don't give refunds.

William Higgins

Small, but very nice. Even caught a Lobstah!

manndy mckenney

Great fro young children to learn about the ocean. Enjoyed the touch tanks and the classes about lobsters. Would have liked bigger animals for the older children.

Erin Fitzgerald

We were hoping for a bigger live exhibit. The fish were great but we were hoping for more.

Emily Pious

We had a great visit recently with my almost-2-year old. We went at about 3 in the afternoon and crowds were thin which meant she had lots of room to run around. The staff was incredibly attentive and engaged her at both of the touch tanks. The grassy area outdoors has a beautiful view of Boothbay Harbor and is a great spot for a picnic.

Lisa Henninger

Nice small aquarium, didn't take more than 2 hours to explore it all.

Ryan Willette

Well worth the visit, very fun place with lots to learn and do!

Amy Ferris

Pretty boring but the workers where nice!

Cindy Russell

Lovely small aquarium. You need to bring a lunch.

Dolores Gagnon

A wonderful experience for the whole family. Not high tech, but highly interesting and interactive. Very hands on. Many opportunities for exploration and discovery. Good parking. Picnic tables set overlooking the water, for further enjoyment.

Karen Foster

Nice, small in size and exhibit, but was an enjoyable experience! We learned quite a lot. Everyone was helpful, teachers, encouraged saving our ecology, and keeping our oceans healthy. Hands-on!

AW LG

Kids enjoyed this place, though a bit small. The touch tanks are fun. Sharks, rays, lots of crabs, etc.

Stephanie Claudino

Nice place, a lot of different lobsters. I was impressed by Netuno, it's a giant lobster!! And I was also able to pet the fish that was in the big tank on the middle of the aquarium. It's a nice ans small place, really fun for children.

Ruth Clarke

Amazing information. Love the touch tank. The staff is knowledgeable.

Dave Horan

Great for the family with the touch tanks. Lots of local fish and creatures to see. Downside is that it can get crowded very quickly, so try to visit away from peak times.

Candace Ashcroft

So much fun !!! Great and helpful staff !!

Jeff -

I thought it was pretty small for a State Aquarium, somewhat interesting and a couple of impressive displays. Not worth the admission cost in my opinion.

Adam Basalay

Fun place for the kids to meet the creatures of the gulf.

Bruce Nickerson

Great place took grandson. Loved the touch tanks.

Katie Chipman

Always fun. Knowledgeable staff. Love the view

Michael Hutchison

Small in size yet huge in discovery! The Lobster talk on the deck is very informative. If you are looking to learn while having fun this is the place. Super easy with kids and a helpful staff. The touch tanks and fishing out back are the best thing going. We love this place!

james sampson

Called before we went, no answer. They were closed during normal business hours. Try an answering machine that states that you are closed. We tried coming several days before Labor Day. No answer on your phone. I guess there’s no money in your budget for an answering machine?

Hayley Clinton

Lots of amazing things to see and learn about

Bryan Stewart

Great place for kids, touch tanks were the most popular, but the lobster tour and pier fishing was good too!

Emily Schwengels

The aquarium is really fun if you're in the area! They have a lot of fun fish and a couple touch pools, as well as an area to fish and pull up lobster traps! You have to have time to find parking, though. There's almost no parking in their lot at any time.

Kalua Wilson

A VERY hands-on place for sea creature lovers

robert duggan

Friendly staff , small but interesting place . Catch and release free fishing off of pier . Nice time

Tim Mccarthy

Amazing aquarium for it's small size. lots of interactive activities for kids. Discovery center excellent... Great staff!

Stacey Libbey

Small but nice

John Hogan

Very small, busy in summer, aquarium with staffed interactive exhibits.

Carol LaBree-Mayo

Very interresting . The staff was well informed. Lots of faamily fun.

Alicia Engel

This place keeps us entertained for hours. Really cool creatures and friendly sharks! I love this aquarium!

Fred Williams

Small but full of great exhibits. Plenty to see, do, and touch for kids. You can even fish there. They provide the poles and the bait. Well worth the price of admission. The staff is also extremely friendly.

Amie A

Cute little aquarium with fantastic touch pools!

Alex Kogan

My 3 year old daughter loved the aquarium, especially the touch tank. This was a fun family experience for us all and the price seems fair.

Mary Jo Clements

Enjoyed our visit and to be able to have a hands on experience and learn about marine life. Lots of fun!

Tammy Bosford

It was awesome were here from New York with the grandkids and they loved it.

Gabrielle Williams

Awesome aquarium!!! Loved seeing belugas

Jess Caldwell

Informative, interactive, educational. The kids loved it, as did we. Loved petting Sunshine the shark and the sturgeon. Great way to end our visit to Maine.

Matt Smith

Nice little place for family and kids. The touchable sea animals are fun. Very knowledgeable guides.

Cheri Wakelin

Great area to have a sit outside a d take in the beauty of the coast. The aquarium was very good.

Aaron Gumm

This was a very fun experience. I imagine it works be enjoyable for children also. There's a touch tank. The place is pretty small and focuses on aquatic life found in the coast of Maine. There was a very informative presentation on lobster fishing.

Subaru Guy

Always fun. Well worth the trip, especially if you have kids

PCL

Love this place. The sharks come up to you and want you to pet them. A very good place to learn about ocean creatures. Has lots of specimens and the people are very knowledgeable and happy to answer questions.

Sabrina Butler

Great place to touch sea life. Small but very nice. Great for kids.

Alessandra B

Super small for the price compared to most aquariums I've been to. The touch tanks were cool though.

Bob Hoagland

Fun little place for kids to touch and pick up sea creatures. Parking is very limited, maybe a dozen spots.

Josh Ward

More fish at Walmart.

Tim DeCarr

Cost only $7. Two touch tanks. Play with, touch,.hold star fish, crabs, lobster, and much more. Very worth the cost

Kate Babicz

Son loved it

Joe S

Not big, but a nice place for a picnic for free on the grounds, and to learn about lobsters and fish in the Gulf of Maine.

Ben Lagasse

Kids had fun. Pretty small place but lots to look at

qball Oswald

Nice array of fish. Very impressed with the giant lobster! Could have had more displays but for the price. Not bad!

Kalyn H

Small place but loved that they had no problem with my service dog and my mother's service dog. Staff was very friendly.

Elaine Terenzoni

We took our Seniors program there and they loved it. The best part was watching then handle all the sea creatures and see them smiling from ear to ear. That's why I love my job.

Bob White

Look for the multicolored lobsters and touch the sharks

Stephen Lucarini

Small but can fish

Lynnette Monk Dezan

The touch tank was fantastic. There is a large variety of creatures to touch: lobsters, horseshoe crabs, moon snail, sea cucumbers, sea mouse, sea stars, clams, scallops, hermit crabs, crabs and sand dollars. It is a small aquarium. Our child loves touch tanks and spent more than an hour observing, holding and discussing the creatures with the knowledgeable staff.

Julie Dragon

Been going here every summer for 25 years. Always fun and educational. Great for kids!

Michael Gordon

Beautiful scenic vista, wonderful staff and great educational experience

Sarah Luna

Good for littles with the touch tank and activities. The fishing off the dock was also nice.

Jeremy Boilard

The place was small and very unexpected for a state aquarium. The tanks were dirty. I felt bad for the fish. The best thing at this location was the 14lb lobster.

Jeromy Cyr

Absolutely loved the Aquarium! We took our two boys ages 2 and 5. It was very reasonably priced at $17 to get in. They had alot more to look at than what was on their website. The boys absolutely loved the two dog sharks they had in the big touch tank. One of the staff members there was able to tell them just about everything there was to k ow about the sharks amd the egg sacks floating in the same tank. They had a huge 14lb Lobster my youngest absolutely loved. He was as big as my 2yo. Out side was many great places to have a picnic with amazing views of the ocean. A dock outside had various traps the kids could pull up with crabs inside. Highly recommend the Maine State Aquarium. I would ignor the website as there is much more to see once your there. Will definitely be returning next year.

Brian Eisenmann

There is a small room with all the tanks and touch tanks. There is a nice area to walk around near the shore with a couple picnic tables to eat lunch. There are some provided activities such as the fishing poles to try and catch some fish off the fishing dock. You could expect to spend about an hour seeing everything. The biggest issue was the very limited parking.

Trisha Watson

Very small place, does have a couple touch tanks (sharks, sea stars, etc.) which were okay, but takes about 10 minutes to go through. Definitely wouldn't make a special trip. A bit shabby all around.

Beth Horboychuk

The Maine State Aquarium is wonderful if you have a toddler. If you have a child 6 years old and up they will be in and out in 30 minutes. I love the touch tank and so did my kiddo but there needs to be more to do. I am assuming it's the state funding for museums and aquariums that are keeping this place small but it would attract many more visitors if there were more to see and do.

Kelly McCarthy

It is inexpensive and fun! Great exhibits especially for kids under 10! Hands on too which kids love! A little disorganized. Otherwise great 1 hour attraction!

Rachelle Warren

Super small. Drove 2 hours north. Wished we would of went to Boston but it would of been more expensive. For 7 adults and 1 child and a free baby it was 50 dollars. My daughter liked the touch tank though, and the shark is a performer for sure! Cute little place if you're local. Didnt catch any fish. But did see an eel get caught that is now apart of the aquarium.

Kelly Stokes

It’s kid friendly but kind of small!

Robert Langton

Great place to see and experience all of Maine's marine life.

Gerald .Clair

The Lobster Lady really knows her stuff.

GM Casolini

Lovely place to take the family

Dawn Lalime

We had fun, the shark petting tank and touch tank were pretty cool. Disappointed at how small it is. We drove 2 hours one way to do this on a rainy day. Wish it was more than one floor.

Kris

Very small, but affordable and nice. Good for an hour or two.

s r

Lobster Presentation is great for kids and adults. Don't miss it. Extremely knowledgeable staff. $30 for a family of 6.

Susan Sinclair

Very very very small. If you're used to other "state" aquariums, this will be a shock. It's literally one room, a few fish tanks, a small shark petting tank (the highlight of the whole place) and of course the ubiquitous touch tank. Very lobster oriented. If you're vacationing in the area anyway and have young children, this is fine. Not worth a special trip, and your kids will be bored fast if they're over about 7.

Rob Lowe

Very well done for as small as it is

Michelle Wiswell

It's a very small aquarium but my grandsons loved being able to learn about and touch the sea life on exhibit.

Susan Oneill

A fun day trip for a family with kids. It's a smallish aquarium with a lot of tanks filled with local marine animals...one of which I dubbed the "All American Tank" which had a red, white, and blue lobster in it. Who knew lobsters come in so many colors! They also have a small lobster hatchery (an egg carton with a baby lobster in each egg spot) which I found out later they have to keep lobsters separated because lobsters are cannibals which I learned along with a lot of other interesting facts about lobsters and lobstering in a presentation they had in a separate building. I highly recommend you attend this. Kids will love it...lots of hands on. They also have two touch tanks in the main building. One with sharks and the craziest lobster I have ever seen...multi-colored! I asked the girl working there where it came from and she said from right here and pointed out the window.(bar harbor) btw this is a beautiful location. There is also a second touch tank that takes up the entire side of the room chock full of all sorts of sea creatures from scallops, clams, mussels, and more! Even sea cucumbers. There are guides there to answer all the questions the kids or you might have. I especially liked this and am not ashamed to say I had a few. Great Staff! It's a little out of the way but if you like a scenic drive like I do, this is the place for you. Btw I went with 5 ppl and admission $25.00 total

Norma Prigge

Kid friendly, so well done for a very small aquarium. Worth a visit.

Brooke Johnson

Small aquarium but very knowledgeable folks. They have a pier where you can try your hand at catching sea creatures, without harming them. Great for learning experience.

Brigitte L.

Super nice small aquarium, good for a few hours, amazing if you want to pet a shark!

Luci Nichols

Beautiful setting...very friendly and knowledgeable!

Robert Cedro

Great and knowledgeable staff. The touch tank, I ever saw. My 3year old grandson loved it. You can fish too.

K Dee

Great little place, petting tank, great information. Only local animals featured at this aquarium, quite unique. Gift shop is reasonable too! They also have a craft room, Discovery room to explain and learn more. Great way for the kids and adults to learn.

Jared Hall

Perfect for young visitors. It isn't huge, but it has two hands-on exhibits, including one with pet-able sharks. Also good info on local marine life.

Arthur Spengler

Awesome place to visit! Very knowledgeable and friendly staff!

Amy Barrett

Very small but very interactive. My kids loved the touch tanks. Inexpensive admission too.

Nathan Sawyer

Kids had a great time. Aquarium is small but the touch tanks, shark petting and salt water fishing make it worth it

Shawn McLane

Great spot for kids to learn about the water environment. Been wanting to visit thr place foe a while and finally made it down to Boothbay Harbor with the family. 20mins off of Route 1 and a little over an hour from Portland. Take the kids their and they'll enjoy a touch take, arts and crafts, fishing and much more. Off thr beaten path so take a snack and drinks.

Harvey Calden

We thought it sucked, and that is what they do with taxpayer money!

Hadley Levat

Great place to bring the family. Kids can touch sharks, stingrays, starfish, go fishing on the pier, watch demonstrations, and gaze at the many tanks full of local fish, lobster & crab. Picnic tables outside to enjoy the beautiful view.

Phil Trivilino

Awesome displays of of Maine's Marine animals/fishes. Lobster displays were great. Grandkids had a great time at the lobster education center. Biologist did a demonstration of the lobsters life cycle. Even handling live lobsters was included. Fun and very educational time for us all

Stephanie Allen-Perry

You're able touch sturgeon, skate, dogfish. There is a touch tank with clams, crabs, horseshoe crabs, scallops, lobster, etc. The staff are knowledgeable and some (not all) are friendly.

Glen

Takes around 1.5-2 hours to go through if you are interested in each tank and display. Only negatives are parking is limited, and poor signage to find site, so have a map or GPS.

Sandra Kase

Small but very interesting. Alot of little fascinating creatures in there.

Laura Dominiczak

Great starter aquarium and the kids liked it. Didnt like so many people not following the rules when using the touching tank. One old mad actually caught a shark and just hung on and wouldn't let it go. They had to stop everyone from touching anything and close the tank. Seriously, some people ruin it for everyone else. This was the first time going with my grandsons and meant a lot to me as I brought my children here years ago. Pay attention people!

Scott W.

Very small with little parking. Plus side is the marine life is native to ME coatal waters with several unique fish and other organisms that you won't find at other aquariums. Spent maybe 30 min. at aquarium then ate our picnic lunch near the water.

Liz B.

Agree with the other reviews that this place is tiny, but it was great for my almost 3-yr-old. The touch tank is big and has a lot of neat stuff in it: urchins, sea cucumbers, crabs, star fish, scallops, clams, even a little lobster. Petting a small shark in the shark tanks was cool too. The free bait and use of rod at the dock outside is also really nice. There were thousands of mackerel swimming by while we were there.

Kim Torres

Amazing place but not a lot inside.

Clingrap XIV

Barely had anything and we had to pay 48 dollars to get in. Complete waste of time and money