The Santa Monica Pier Aquarium (blue and white), beneath the Carousel (orange building) at the Santa Monica Pier. Photo: Heal the Bay

The Santa Monica Pier Aquarium offers school groups, families and visitors a unique view into the ocean world just outside its doors and is home to dozens of species of marine animals and plants.

Aquaria exhibits include interactive displays, touch tanks filled with animals found in tide pools and several large habitat tanks featuring animals and habitats found in the Santa Monica Bay.

During public visiting hours, families can enjoy all the public programs, including the new Kids' Corner, a comfortable, inviting, interactive space full of books, games and puzzles centered around a marine theme. The Kids' Corner also features a puppet theater and a host of puppets for visitors to use to create their own undersea adventures.

Families can also learn about marine conservation and other environmental issues by watching short educational films shown throughout the day in the Santa Monica Bay Room. Craft projects for a range of age groups are ongoing as well.

The Aquarium is open to the general public and attracts more than 85,000 visitors per year (approximately 15,000 are students). Since Heal the Bay acquired the Aquarium in 2003 from UCLA, more than 290,000 visitors were welcomed during public hours and approximately 80,000 students have been educated during in-house education programs.