Port Townsend Marine Science Center

It was a very very small aquarium. With that said, the kids still enjoyed the touch tanks and looking at the various sea creatures. Although the admission was $ 5 per person, I was hoping to see a little more than expected.

Small but cozy, lots of hands-​on fun for kids.

It is definitely small! You can learn a lot and appreciate those who have gone before you in learning, research and technology to study oceanography.
Tho’ small the time to maintain and to keep open is likely mor ethan one can imagine. The touch tanks and other tanks require cleaning and upkeep regularly.

I’m a volunteer at PTMSC, so maybe I’m disqualified from writing a review. I am biased. This little organization has been providing environmental education for 28+ years with a minimal staff and a horde of volunteers. If you’re visiting P.T. be sure to drop in for a visit to their marine exhibit of local fish and invertebrates, surprisingly comprehensive for its size, and the natural history exhibit, which covers local geology and natural history of birds in particular. The underwater video of seabirds rounding up and hunting a herring ball is amazing! The nicest touch at both these exhibits is that when you come in you are met by a friendly docent who will tell you all kinds of fascinating stories,.especially if it’s Moh, a walking fish encyclopedia and great raconteur. He might even play you a jaunty sea shanty on his harmonica. You don’t get that kind of personal attention at bigger institutions.
This year they’ll be opening a new exhibit on orcas, based on a skeleton from a whale that beached herself in Sequim. She had more PCBs and DDT in her tissues than any other marine mammal ever found, so there’s a timely story there.
No matter how many times you visit PTMSC you’ll always find something new. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to witness some of the odd reproduction strategies our underwater neighbors rely on: hermaphroditic sea slugs fertilising each other, barnacles probing their neighbors with penises longer than their legs, «pregnant» pipefish papas bulging with eggs, or grunt sculpins posing as barnacles while guarding their eggs. Or just watch everyone’s favorite, the lumpsuckers, who don’t have to do a thing to make you laugh and squeal with their silly appearance. The family of river otters wriggling and cavorting on the floating dock is another treat. That’s why so many people end up volunteering there. It’s endlessly fascinating! Check out
where you can read blogs by the Americorps volunteers, link up to the underwater hydrophone system listening for orcas and mysteries, and find out about upcoming lectures, classes, field trips, cruises, and «citizen science» research opportunities. It’s a great way to find out what’s going on in the Straits and Puget Sound, full of intriguing surprises. PTMSC: small but CHOICE!

Touch and feel gooey things that live in the ocean! What could possibly be better than that? My two young kids got fabulous one on one attention from the dude working there and learned a lot.
SO worth a few bucks to get in and really understand what lives under the water. The 20lb starfish was worth the price of admission!

The best tiny marine science center by far! When my kids were younger, they loved the fact they could «pet» some of the critters without being edged out by pushy types like in bigger museums. At certain times during the year, one could see jellyfish from the dock around the museum.

A gem! This is a small, super-​local, family-​feeling non-​profit. A visit to the PT Marine Science Center informs patrons of local marine life, geology, ecology, and general natural science. All of the animals on the pier in the Marine Exhibit are local and represent Puget Sound habitats. Beautiful links are made between the significance of geology and marine life. If you’re a hard-​core science nerd or just someone who appreciates interesting critters, you’ll get something out of visiting PTMSC. Ask lots of questions– staff and volunteers love to entertain inquiry and will look info up if they don’t know it first hand.