Sea Life Minnesota Aquarium

I know the ticket price may seem high, but look at pretty much any other similar attraction and it’s actually less expensive than the majority of its competitors for an equally if not better experience.
Take the behind the scenes tour. It’s crazy inexpensive (especially compared to the tours of other aquariums) and you learn so much more than you would on the regular walk through.

My family loved this place. The stingray and urchin petting area is great. I would definitely recommend the 6 dollar upcharge to do the tour. We had Mira who was very knowledgeable. And you get to tour the inner workings of the aquarium. Never been allowed to do this before and have been to many aquariums. Very happy we did this…

A very educational aquarium located within the Mall of America.
Pretty pricy for the experience, however everyone including myself had smiles on their faces.
Make sure you touch everything you have the opportunity to
Overall, it was enjoyable and would go again with friends and family. :)

I have to say, I’m glad I got the Groupon price, because I think I would have had a hard time paying full price to get into the aquarium. First off, the ticket entrance does not seem the most user friendly. You go around in one big circle. I’m sure not to miss opportunity to purchase a welcome photo package. And then you’re told to stay to the left even though it says go to the right side if you have pre paid tickets. Whatever. Simon Says… I wish I would have noticed the other ticket counter on the other level where you give your online ticket– maybe it’s different who knows.
First stop was the stingray pool. Hand washing station. Lots of stingrays swimming around that you can touch. Little shrimp cups that you can buy to feed them. Picture opportunity.
Lots of tropical fish, seahorses, jellyfish, lobster, huge crab, sharks, turtles and fish.
It is a nice set up and you walk through fairly quick or at your own leisure taking in all the sea life. It was nice to see. Our little one liked seeing all the fish and sea life.
The tropical area is nice right before you exit into the gift shop and out.
There are restrooms inside the actual area.
It’s a nice experience and a nice way to spend a morning.

Le ridicule temple de la consommation ! C’est lamentable ! Beaucoup de trucs cool à l’intérieur…c’est bien ça le problème…c’est «cool»… On vous fais dépenser «à la cool» quoi ^^
Il y a même des gens qui vient ici pour se marier… vous vous marieriez dans un centre commercial vous !? …moi non évidemment !
Ça représente assez bien les USA finalement *.*

Excellent diversity of sea life. Beautiful exhibits. The saw fish and shark tanks were spectacular. Friendly staff. Great place to bring the kids. Well worth the price of admission. Got a nice discount for getting tickets online.

Who doesn’t love a good aquarium? I know I do, so when visiting the mall of America the sea life aquarium was a must! I was attracted by the online photos and ads. A 1.2 million gallon tank! I’m in! So a few considerations I have to use a wheelchair so is it wheel chair accessible? Yes it is there I an elevator that takes you right down to the beginning level. There are a few right spots at the beginning but the staff was incredibly understanding an helpful. Also at the end there is a pretty rough ramp to go up that proved somewhat difficult to navigate. If your in a unpowered wheel chair I recommend taking a strong friend and making sure they eat a good breakfast! Ok so other than that this was an AMAZING experience.
The ticket cost may seem a little steep at $ 24.95 for adults and $ 17.95 for kids buuuut if you go online you can get a discount also you can find deals at the mall itself we got a family of 5 in @ $ 15.00 per person.
It starts out with a water petting zoo where kids (who am I kidding) an adults can touch some pretty cool animals STINGRAYS! Yep that right stingrays! Ok so them you travel through various room a filled with jellyfish, massive lobsters! Colossal crabs! And many other denizens of the deep! Very interactive. So now here comes the part I was waiting for ! You walk through the underwater tubes am swimming all around you are SHARKS! Massive sea tortoises! Saw fish (ok so the scientific name escapes me but they had a saw shaped maw!!) and many other kinds of aquatic life. and again SHARKS! ok so after the many tube sections you come to the dreaded ramp. But all along the ramp are poison frogs a waterfall a turtle the size of a boulder! I’m not kidding my wife freaks out thinking the rock she had been standing next to started moving! Crocodiles! Piranha and so much more! I should also mention that they have posted feeding times so check that before going (wish I had!) sharks! Would’ve loved to see them feed ahh well something to see next time! And oh yes to quote a somewhat famous governor «I’LL BE BACK!!)

Short Version:
Awesome aquarium, and you’ll enjoy yourself here, but the ticket prices are a bit expensive. They have a great focus on conservation, and for those who prefer child-​free events, they occasionally offer 21+ only nights for adult visitors. Seems like the staff really cares about the animals too!
Long Version:
My partner and I came here for the Sharks After Dark specialty event. This is held after-​hours (9PM to Midnight) and are usually themed. We came for the «90’s Music» — especially since it was 21+ only. It’s usually $ 50 a ticket, but we got ours off of a deal site for less. The tickets include unlimited photos, behind-​the-​scenes tours, aquarium admission, 4 hours of unlimited play at the SkyDeck arcade, complimentary nacho bar, and a DJ at the aquarium.
Some of the stuff seemed a bit cheesy. For example, the live DJ appeared to be an employee with a laptop hooked up to some speakers. Which was fine. He was friendly, full of energy, and seemed to do a good job of selecting 90s music, but it also wasn’t a particular «party» atmosphere. The nacho bar was a bowl with nachos, bowls with toppings, and a water cooler in a side room with tables where you could sit down and munch.
One of the big things that can keep me from enjoying any aquarium or zoo is if the animals don’t seem like they’re cared for, and in this case, it really seems like they care. Certain exhibits had clear «Please no Flash Photography» signs because the animals disliked bright light. Others had timed tank lights to put the animals in darkness sometimes because animals preferred it that way. It occasionally made it hard to see the creatures, but it was worth it for their comfort. There was a strong «conservation» message across the entire aquarium — with messages mostly focused towards children — but also with things that anybody could do to help save wildlife. (Example: Use reusable bags instead of plastic because plastic bags get in the water and turtles confuse them with jellyfish and end up injured)
As an important note, if you plan on taking photos for their Digital Photo fun, be aware that it IS a greenscreen! This means don’t wear green clothing! Certainly not the event’s fault, but I wasn’t aware, so my green dress meant I was a headless blob in most of my photos.
Behind-​the-​scenes tour was pretty interesting. You get to go up and see the backstage areas where all the feeding, handling, and care is done for the animals. You’ll get to see the tops of the giant water tanks that surround the tunnel system. You’ll get to see the medical area where procedures are done and where water quality is checked. There will be staff to talk to you and explain things about the aquarium.
The aquarium itself was neat — but not particularly time-​consuming. Even with our slow-​moving selves (and stopping to take photos pretty often), it still only took about 2 hours to make it through. It might take longer if you were with children or you had a party larger than 2. There are lots of neat animals, and they even display the «stories» behind a lot of the animals (many are rescued or breed here in safety to try and preserve species). You’ll see pretty jellyfish, turtles, sharks, stingrays, holy-​shit-​sized crabs, seahorsies, sawfish, and lots others. The coolest part, by far, is probably the stingray petting area. The stingray don’t get «pet» so much as «you hold your hand in the way and they’ll swim by and let you feel them». Which was neat in itself; I’d recommend it to anyone because the stingrays seem pretty happy about being pet. The aquarium tunnel is probably second-​coolest with the dark, pretty jellyfish area behind the third most-​interesting.
Of course, there’s a gift shop here as well. Regular gift shop-​type stuff with giftshop prices. Lots of penguin merchandise which was weird considering there wasn’t any penguins. Some little 75 cent statues if your children want something to remember the trip.
On that note, all of the staff was very friendly. The event itself (Sharks after Dark) seems like it could use some refinement on clear guidance and educating the employees. I couldn’t figure out who to give my ticket to, and it wasn’t until I made it right to the Stingrays that I actually found someone to take my ticket. Everyone kept waving me through to the next person. An employee told me to enjoy all of the «free soda» at the event while another employee told me there was no free soda. Other basic questions (when do the lights out in the tunnel?) to the employees was met with a blank stare and no idea what was going on. They were very friendly, but it appears not all of them were educated on the event information. Clear guidance for never-​before visitors would been nice as well.
I enjoyed myself, and I’m glad I puchased my ticket on a deal site. $ 50 for three hours of enjoyment (per person) would have been a bit much. We very much enjoyed our time here, though, and it was nice to experience the aquarium for the first time with

I wasn’t sure what to expect having a aquarium in a mall but quality wise I really did like everything I saw and it was very interesting! There was a decent amount of things to see but I was surprised we took about 1 HOUR to finish the whole thing which we weren’t rushing through. Overall the shark tunnel was probably the best part and most fascinating.

This would be fun for kids since in the first few exhibits, you’ll have some tactile experience with sting rays, star fish, and other creatures I have trouble recalling. However, I wish they offered more exhibits than just the few that they managed to squeeze in the bottom floor of the mall.
Tip: order online for the huge discount

Lots of fun. Petting the stingrays was the best part. At $ 25 per adult, it’s very expensive for the small size of the aquarium. Recommended to get tickets online which will save about $ 6 per adult.

I had a really good time here. They’re aren’t a lot if exhibits there than the one in my city but I think they have very unique animals there. We first stopped at the stingray pool where you can touch a stingray. Immediately, I found one that liked me and kept nibbling on my hand.
I bought the behind-​the-​scenes pass, which started at 2:00 PM for me. I seriously did not want to leave the stingray pool. The exhibit was informative but I was bored. I was expecting pictures and touching the animals. All I did was get a visual tour, so I was ready to get back to the stingrays.
I went back to the pool and my critter friend found me again. I must have been there for half an hour. I then went under the water tunnels and it was amazing seeing the sharks swim overhead. Going from exhibit to exhibit was short-​lived but still a fun time.

Fabulous & educational… my teen & tween was entertained as well! Great interactive ponds & beautiful facility w/​an opportunity to take kids back behind the scenes to teach with fun! My only criticism is all the baby carriages. Two to three deep, blocking access, views & simply a hazard if there was an emergency. We had to constantly wait till they moved along. Some just simply stopping mid-​isle to change a diaper or take more photos. We found this really frustrating & it takes away the overall enjoyment. However, still recommended as part of your visit to the Mall of America.

It is a bit pricey for one visit, but we bought the annual pass which was only 5 bucks more expensive. So not too bad. You get a few more benefits with the annual pass. The exhibit itself is a little short but a lot of thought went into it. I loved that we could touch the sting rays and some tiny sharks at tje beginning. Also the tunnel with the sharks and turtles was amazing. My two year old was awed. We will definetly come again.

With a day off from business, my 16 year old daughter and I decided to go to Sea Life Minnesota. While it was very cool to see, it was extremely expensive for the time it takes to see all of the «attractions.» It took us less than 1 hour to go through the entire aquarium. Totally not worth the money!
I also attempted to buy advanced tickets online and ended up not having my order go through but my credit card was charged twice. I placed a call to customer service and sent an email. I did get both an email and call back with customer service telling me these were just pending charges and they didn’t go through. I am certain I will have to follow up with both Sea Life and my credit card company to get this resolved.
My recommendation is to not waste your money unless you have little kids and can get cheaper tickets.

We came to yonder Aquarium with the kiddos given that we all have a love for fish and other aquatic animals! While it’s not the Atlanta aquarium, it was a very good time.
To begin, you’re greeted by a dark room that’s filled floor to ceiling with columns of luminescent jelly fish that are pretty awesome! The following rooms had plenty of sea life, including what ended up being our favorite part — the under water tunnel! We spent about an hour walking through this few hundred foot tunnel and it was rad. Tons of sharks, rays, turtle and plenty of other fish swimming over and around you — it was just plain cool! The crab area was fun as well and included a spider crab that could take down a small dog.
The place isn’t huge and walking straight through, would take about 20 minutes to get past, but overall the place was solid. There was a kids area where the little dudes got to touch starfish and sea urchins as well as plenty of interactive areas.
Definitely worth checking out and while it’s not the most impressive place we’ve ever seen, it’s well worth spending a couple hours here,

It’s always nice to visit this place. It’s peaceful and very beautiful. Even in a busy mall, you can find serenity here. You even get to touch stingrays.

Loved it. Worth every penny. It was extremely fun and wasn’t nearly as crowded as I thought it would be. Staff was very nice and the exhibits were amazing.

I got a year membership and think it was well worth it since I live so close, and it is generally less crowded than the mall. I can skip the lines and go straight to the sea life.
The tunnel is great, sharks swim right above your head and it feels like they are so close you could touch them.

I wasn’t overly impressed because I wanted to see whales, and to be outdoors… but one of my little nephews (that I was travelling with) thought this was the best activity we’d done on our road trip so far… and we’d just come from South Dakota. where we did Mt. Rushmore, Reptile Garden and Bear Country USA. I think Sea Life Minnesota had both nephews at turtles (their favorite).
Where I live (Oregon), a lot of our aquarium is windowed, therefore it is bright and airy. They also have Orca whales.
I really enjoyed the view of the manta rays and sharks from the glass tunnel but for me, being that this is in a darkened basement, it was a little too dark, which had a bit of foreboding feel. The kiddo’s enjoyed that though and felt like that made it more undersea like. They also loved how the dark made the translucent seahorses glow. I get it, but would still rather see sea life shows in the outdoors. Like at Sea World.
In hindsight, I thought we were going to Sea World (my cousin who bought the tickets called it that), so it’s a little unfair for me to judge too harshly.
For anyone wanting to also touch a live starfish or sea urchin, this is your place.

So here we are at Mall of America and my crazy little guy is too small for some of the amusement park rides in the middle of the mall, while my older son is not interested in the rides at all. So what do we do for fun? The aquarium in the lower level of the mall, of course!
Being from Chicago and having been to Shedd aquarium a few times, it sets a high bar for expectations. Honestly, Sea Life is a fraction of the size and holds no large fish (or ocean mammals) like the Shedd. However, it is designed to be a winding, continuous tour from start to finish. There are many interactive exhibits or places where the ocean life comes very close to you.
Perhaps one of my favorites was the stingray tank. The rays would slide up against the glass of a curved tank and show you their little smiley faces on their undersides. Also, in another exhibit you get to touch living sea urchins and starfish. The jelly fish exhibit is amazing, in a mirrored room with dim lighting that accentuates the delicate details of the different jellyfish varieties.
And since this is in Minnesota, there is even an exhibit that shows fish and turtles native to a Midwestern lake. Towards the end, there is the largest of all the tanks, one with small sharks and a saw fish that had both my kids watching them a long time. In all, the tour took about an hour but it was thoroughly enjoyable and a nice break to the monotony of store after store in the mall. It gave us an exciting detour in a long day at the mall.