World Aquarium

This place has improved greatly since we visited a year ago. They have a wide variety of animals to include aquatic, reptilian and mammals. The price isn’t bad for $ 7.95 considering how many animals they have to feed. They have areas where you can touch certain animals like tortoises and stingrays. The space is a bit cramped and the parrots that are let loose in the building can be quite loud at times. I wish it was less crowded for the animals.

Awful! The World Aquarium is such a disgrace. I’m ashamed to say this even exists in my city. The tanks were absolutely disgusting, filthy and cloudy and clearly haven’t been cleaned in a very long time. All of the enclosures were too small for the animals, no room to even move. The guinea pig was missing patches of hair and the rabbit has upside cardboard boxes for its house with a towel to sleep on. It’s sad they all have to live like that and I plan to report them in hopes of saving the poor animals.

March 2014: Cited for Numerous Violations (Summary from STL Today)
The World Aquarium, a nonprofit aquarium tucked inside downtown’s City Museum, has been cited for a series of violations stemming from poor sanitation, murky water and unfed animals.
An inspection last month by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found 12 specific violations. Inspector Amanda J. Owens ordered swift remedial action.
When Owens arrived Feb. 18, she found a litany of problems ranging from «numerous empty food bowls, contaminated water receptacles, apparent failure to spot clean, filled litter boxes, and general lack of cleaning throughout the facility.»
On Monday, Rick Erwin, the executive director of the City Museum, said the museum had asked the World Aquarium to vacate the second-​floor space.
«It started last year with them being behind on rent, then it sort of escalated,» Erwin said. «We have standards that we’d like to see for the World Aquarium. We want to make sure those animals are safe and that they go to a good space.»
Erwin said the museum had received complaints over the last few months that the animals were going unfed. He said the aquarium’s operator, Leonard Sonnenschein, assured them everything was fine.
The report highlighted the death of an anteater over the Christmas holiday. It alleged that aquarium operators knew the anteater, which had been taken off display, was sick, but didn’t provide adequate veterinarian care. A necropsy showed it died of renal failure.
«The animal should have been examined by a veterinarian as soon as it was discovered to be so ill so its painful condition could have been managed appropriately,» Owens wrote in the report.
A caretaker believed the animal was dehydrated. It was given a saline treatment but was never examined by a veterinarian.
In addition to the anteater, Owens’ inspection on Feb. 20, noted overall unsanitary conditions at the facility, in the City Museum’s large warehouse building. Owens found soiled fish nets, cobwebs, murky water, moldy boxes, signs of rodents, and cluttered junk and trash.
«There was also evidence that generalized cleaning in the building was not occurring,» Owens wrote.
In an area called «the Jungle,» the inspector found frozen drain pipes and a pool with water that had not been drained or replaced in 11 days.
«In ‘the Jungle,’ all the feces from the sloth and kinkajou from the past 11 days was hosed into the pool and there was thick, brown sediment covering the entire bottom,» the report stated.

The aquarium had lots of different species to look at & interact with. A great place to take children. Not expensive at all, but you do have to pay the museum fee before you get to the actual aquarium. The only complaint that I do have is that the aquarium is a small & a bit crowded.

Another reviewer said this and I basically couldn’t agree more:
«Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the City Museum, but the World Aquarium is by far the worst aquarium experience I’ve ever had. «
Hands down worst. I felt sick being in there. It’s falling apart. The animals (the otters specifically) were going nuts trying to get out of their little space. EVERYTHING is dirty. There wasn’t a clean tank, wall, floor, etc.
It was like a hoarder picked up a bunch of animals and tossed them in cages WAY to small and then didn’t clean. For 30 years.
I’m not a big «animal rights activist» sort of person. But there is something seriously wrong here and I am planning on writing a few letters to the city, management, etc. I’ve been to a bunch of aquariums in my life and this is the scariest thing I’ve EVER seen.
The City Museum is a ton of fun and there are so many things to do there. This was an extra cost. DO NOT PAY IT. DO NOT GO TO THE AQUARIUM.

The World Aquarium itself wasn’t like any other aquarium I have been to. It wasn’t necessarily bad, but it just wasn’t maintained at the level it should be. Most of the aquarium was dirty to the point you couldn’t even view some of the fish in the aquariums. Filters were obviously covered and the entire aquarium had a bad odor to it. The layout was somewhat haphazard as well with me having to duck and turn to get into certain areas.
My family did the backstage discovery tour and it was actually pretty fun. The guides were knowledgeable and we got to do some cool stuff including petting animals I thought I would never get to pet. So overall if you can do the tour I would say it is worth it, but if you love aquariums and just want to go yourself I would probably say to skip it.
My review rating is really for the customer service level of the World Aquarium and more importantly the photo counter inside of it. They took everyones picture at the beginning of the tour and then at the end you had the option of buying it. We liked our picture and bought it, but somewhere between leaving there are getting home two days later (we were on vacation) it was lost. My wife called the Aquarium and spoke to Devonte about getting a new one printed out. He was actually very helpful and found the picture in their system, described it to my wife and said he would get his manager to print it out and send it off. My wife paid for it over the phone and said we should get it pretty soon (this was August 1). We waited patiently and didn’t hear anything else and then last week (August 20 or 21) we called and spoke to Tayra who is supposedly the manager of the photo area. She said she find it again and mail it out and didn’t know what happened to it, but would call us at the end of the day or email us to let us know she did it.
We never heard from her so we called her the next day and she said she has a tracking number for it and sent it priority mail, but she left it in her car and can’t give it to us. She said she was at work and couldn’t really talk (apparently she has another job other than the aquarium… not a problem, but it is what it is). Stated she would call us when she got off and email us the tracking number. The day came and went and never heard from her. We called her once again the next day and were basically told the same thing… the wifi is acting up at her job and she is having her a hard time sending it, but she will send it from her personal email and call us at the end of the day. Once again, we never heard from her.
I was getting frustrated by this time and tried to call her management company (Magna Gaia from Florida is the company on my electronic receipt for paying for the photo). I left a voicemail and tried calling them the next two days and never heard from anyone from that company either.
Then I called the World Aquarium and talked to Cara (spelling?), she was actually very pleasant and apologetic, but unfortunately still nothing got taken care of. She said that the photo company doesn’t work for the Aquarium and instead is contracted out and now that school is back in they are there usually only on the weekends so I couldn’t get ahold of anyone until then. She did say she would email Tayra and her boss and try to get this situation rectified for me. I waited a full 24 hours and didn’t hear anything back and called Cara again and was told that she instead just emailed Tayra and wanted to give her a chance to fix it, but since she didn’t she would now email her boss and I should hear something soon. That was three days ago and still not an email or a phone call have been made to my wife or myself by anyone.
Overall, I am very disappointed in the professionalism of the World Aquarium and the photo company that they have hired.

I don’t get it. I am sure we are biased. We a have seen a few aquariums. The Omaha Zoo, The Shed, Epcot, The Denver Aquarium. This place is definitely not in the awesome category. Some of these reviews are very old, and maybe the place has changed since other reviewer have been there. However, I can tell you, this is one place I won’t return to.
I gave it two stars because I think the place actually serves a purpose as a type of Human Society for aquatic life, cold blooded animals, and even some warm blooded ones.
You first have to pay the city museum fee, which again, is a cool place, but not a favorite on my list. Then you have to head to the second floor and pay another entry fee. ($ 83.97 total, for a family of four) Still cheaper than a day at Disney. (trying to stay positive.)
Someone described it as a pet store feeling, and that is what it feels like as you enter. There is of course the odor of stuff not being cleaned. (I know its an indoor zoo, but come on, the smell…) Some tanks are clean, but most tanks are dirty. Filters look overwhelmed and not clean. There are electrical cords daisy chained everywhere. Plenty of places to step up and smack your head. There are bizarre costumes of a werewolf, a gorilla, and a two-​headed alien. How about the deer head mount hanging on a the wall? The guinea pigs in the tree stump cages, the rabbits, the weird dirty raccoon run… the list goes on. It really is a strange combination of a pet store, roadside attraction and an attic to store leftover junk.
I’m sorry, I can’t be very nice to this place, especially when the city has some really great places (the Zoo, the Science Center, the Arch and it’s museum.) I love the idea behind it, but it is really trying to be something it’s not.

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the city museum, but the world aquarium is by far the worst aquarium experience I’ve ever had. I’ve been to the city museum multiple times and didn’t expect it to be the typical aquarium by any means but I did not expect them to have otters, a sloth, and other non aquatic animals in sad, dark, dusty, old, entirely too small enclosures. The aquariums are acceptable, but are murky and don’t appear to be cleaned often. It’s like a dilapidated pet store. If you want to see animal exhibits, just go to the Saint Louis zoo. It’s free, it has appropriate enclosures for it’s collection, and there is much more to see.

Came here just last week with my boyfriend and we were pleasantly surprised by how awesome this place was despite some of the ore negative reviews. Other reviews have complained about it being within the city museum, but I kind of loved that place (see separate review) and feel that they probably get a lot more financial support in the form of more visitors and possibly additional funding due to that arrangement, so I fully approve.
The aquarium itself is easy to find on the second floor and surprisingly large. You receive a map upon entry, marked in highlighter for the interactive/​touch exhibits, which include horseshoe crabs, a tidal pool, rays, turtles, a few different kinds of fish, parrots, and ferrets– yes, there are other animals here that are not necessarily aquatic! Luckily this place does not overdo it so you don’t feel as though they are compensating for a lack of fish. Other non-​aquatic animals here include lizards, snakes, an anteaters, tortoises, and maybe a couple more.
I love aquariums and try to visit at least one every time I travel some place new, and the most noteworthy part of this particular aquarium was the giant shark and turtle tank. The tank was enormous and contains several midsize sharks and a few giant sea turtles. It is truly rare to see indoor aquariums with such a large tank, and most aquariums do not have more than one large turtle. The top is open, and you are instructed not to put your hands in this tank, but its cool to see some of the animals splash a bit above the water level.
All in all, this place is great for a visit. Only criticism is that the informational plaques are posted on paper in small font and just aren’t particularly well suited to the displays, but for visitors who already know about the animals or who have small children who are not interested in reading them, this will be an irrelevant point.

My son and I went on the Seafari-​Experience Adventure Tour at World Aquarium and I have to admit that it exceeded my expectations by 100 miles.
On the day that we went there were at least 10 school groups visiting the City Museum, where the World Aquarium is located, so when we first got there I was prepared for the place to be a zoo (which it was)…but the tour that we were a part of only had 6 people and my son was the only kid, so in a sea of people it was like we were isolated from everyone else with our own personal guide who showed us around and let us do things that everyone else was not allowed to do.
The tour was about two and a half hours long, and we had a great time learning about the different animals and hearing the stories of how they came to be in the exhibit. We were allowed to pick up and feed many of the animals that you would normally only be able to see through the glass cages.
Our guide Chuck was awesome and allowed us to take our time and focus on what interested us the most.
In all this was a great experience and I learned a lot about the animals as well as my son, who it turns out is not afraid to touch anything, as exemplified by the 5 snacks that he held at one time for a picture.
We bought this package (normally $ 100 for 2 people) through Eversave for $ 22 and we got more than our money’s worth. I believe these deals are available pretty often through deal sites, so if you see one make sure you take advantage.
We will probably go back in about nine or ten months to see if we get the same type of experience out of it a second time.

This is the most horrible place for animals I have ever been. The owner is a liar and nothing more than a glorified animal hoarder. I know people who have worked there and they all say the same thing– stay away! PLEASE do not support such a horrible organization. The more St Louis supports a disgusting place like this, the more justification they have to stay in business. They tell you they have «great conservation policies» but the truth is –they never apply them. They are all talk, and no action. Most of their reptiles are wild caught and forced to live in tiny cages which are filthy and unregulated. Some are even become deformed because of the lack of space to grow. The mammals’ enclosures barely meet the minimum of standard care. They suffer everyday. Just watch the stress behavior (ie, pacing and panting) The aquariums are constantly being restocked (with more wild caught fish and reef animals) because the filtration systems are so poor. Even the staff at the City Museum knows– from what I understand, they do not even want to be associated with the World Aquarium (hence the separate pricing). PLEASE help these creatures by spreading the word about this abomination

Fun place with interesting animals and it matches the chaos of city museum. Animals seem healthy and staff is caring. Not a zoo and not the cleanest but these animals and fish are living with caring staff who rescued them from a dangerous alternative — a good fit at city museum. Thanks

To expect the World Aquarium to be an aquarium is like expecting the City Museum to be a museum.
Why does it seem like a giant pet store? Because that is what it essentially is. Many of the animals here are owner-​surrendered pets, or Humane Society surrenders. Most if not all of the exotic animals that are housed at the World Aquarium live here because for one reason or another (such as the sea turtles which were hit by boats), they are unable to live in the wild.
The alligators actually have more room than the previous poster lets on. The area they are in actually extends up a ramp to some rocks and then a larger pool. It just looks like they are cramped because the alligators like to lay on top of one another. For warmth maybe? I don’t know. But this is how I’ve seen alligators in other exhibits, so that’s my hypothesis.
As for the anteater-​like creature: he is actually very old and, incidentally, blind. I don’t think he’s yearning for a lot of space to run around. I’m sure as long as he gets a little exercise, is protected from predators, and can always depend on a meal, he’s happy.
The animals to me did not look depressed. As a long time pet owner (who has owned pretty much everything: dogs, cats, birds, fish, lizards, snakes, and rats) I can assure you that NONE of these animals looked depressed, scared, or remotely unhealthy. All of the habitats were clean and they were well-​fed. The alligators eat the same tilapia that I happened to cook for myself a couple nights prior to my visit here. The only concern I had was a species of small jungle cat that they had above some of the other exhibits just because I felt that the enclosure maybe should be bigger. However, the cat looked healthy and playful, and very curious about the patrons of the aquarium. It did not look scared, or depressed, and didn’t exhibit the characteristic pacing of a wild animal stressed to be in captivity.
The World Aquarium is worth a visit. My boyfriend and I were here last week on the Groupon they offered for a semi-​private 2.5 hour guided tour (hence the knowledge I have about some of the animals). The guide was a charismatic elementary school teacher, and we had a lot of fun.
The place is a big, chaotic, unorganized, wonderful temple of fun and education. No, it’s not like a formal aquarium or museum, and you’re going to wonder why the heck there’s a random anchor from the set of Titanic (yes they have it!), or why there is a hedgehog and an armadillo chillin’ in the middle of an exhibit of fish tanks. But if you love the City Museum for all its amazing random wonder, then you will love the World Aquarium.

Price is definitely worth it. Its a very kid friendly and hands on establishment. Educational to say the least. Awesome place to take guests/​out of towners.

I’ve already reviewed the City Museum but this space needs its own review. My brother and I waffled on spending the money to get in… I mean, Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium is hard to follow, but we decided to give it a try since we were already here. I’m SO glad we did!
This was one unique place… its a little more intimate than a typical large aquarium. One person said its like a giant pet store… and I could understand that description. Its definitely kid centered and I think you could make it as educational as you wanted. There are signs with information on each tank. (I’d like to see them a little bigger but it would take up more space on the glass.) There are LOTS of ‘touch’ exhibits and that was my favorite!!! Maybe I’m a kid at heart!
The staff seems to genuinely care about the animals. It must be hard to keep up something like this. There is a LOT of species (water and non) and some spaces do seem small for some of the animals.
As the museum grows (which I hope it does) I would love to see some of these animals moved into more of a petting zoo, so the aquarium part can really get the attention that it deserves.
I will definitely be back… to pet the stringrays, feel the doctor fish on my fingertips, look in wonder at the sharks and turtles and say hello to Jose, the macaw!
And…how could I forget, «smash» another penny to add to my collection that says «I fed schools of hungry fishes at the World Aquarium!»

Awesome aquarium! They have the doctor fish. The doctor fish’s bite definitely felt weird. Totally unexpected, but cool. My bf & I got to the aquarium just in time to feed the stingrays. For a dollar, you can feed one piece of food to a stingray. They came up to the surface to get the food. Very gentle creatures & very graceful. I must admit I couldn’t find the octopus in one of their displays, but maybe it was hiding. Hmmmmm… Overall, the design was very very kid friendly. The design was very unique & provided a lot of eye candy. The staff was helpful. The $ 6 admission fee was very very worth it & worth every penny. But, you have to buy the City Museum admission ticket before buying the aquarium ticket. This is definitely one of my fave aquariums.

I really wasn’t all that jazzed about going into a stinking museum. I mean, how cool could it be, right? WRONG! This is much more than a museum, it has two headed snakes, iguanas and all sorts of stuff. They have over 100 exhibits, and they are always changing. They have ecosystems from all over the world recreated here. You can pet stingrays as stingray city. Check out all the sharks up close in their own exhibit, these guys are so creepy but the kids sure love them!
The World Aquarium is a very peaceful, informative and fun place to go. Kids swarm all over, completely enthralled with watching all of the animals. Parents seem entranced with the moving water and the animals floating by. It’s $ 6 to enter, but first you have to pay to get into the City Museum. Honestly, though, it is worth it! Plus, you get the happy realization that you are paying to take care of these animals.