Discovery Center

The Artificial Reef tank is an examples of man-made structures left behind that now act as reefs teaming with life from sea anemones on rock scallops to sea stars to juvenile rockfish. Can you see the bright orange Garibaldi with blue spots?

Have you ever wondered oh why, oh why did my goldfish die? Come find the answer in the Kid’s Kelp Corner. You can also relax and read the many ocean related books in our library while watching our inquisitive freshwater fish.

The octopus tank is an example of a deep water habitat brought to life for our guests to see. It features anemones and rock scallops on the reef which also add structure and microhabitats to the reef. The decorator crab uses the colonial strawberry anemones to help...

The Pipefish tank is an example of a mudflat with eelgrass beds that act as a nursery for young fish and young sting rays. See if you can spot a pipefish in the eelgrass.

See our animals in the spotlight with cool adaptive traits like our spotted rose anemone that has biofluorescence and our baby swell shark eggs that can camouflage as seaweed. The baby swell sharks are really cute when they hatch out too!

All the animals that you can find in our touch tank live in a habitat called a tide pool. When the tide is low and the water has receded, pools of water are left in between rocks which form the tide pools. In Southern California, we have 2 high tides and 2 low tides...

These tanks represent a very diverse and abundant habitat, the kelp forest! The giant kelp that grows 2 feet a day, provides food and shelter for many different animals. Not only is this habitat important for animals, but it is also important to humans as well!...

Have you ever wondered what is under the pier? This tank will give you a good idea! Pier pilings, while man made, do create a habitat for lots of animals ranging from mussels, to crabs, to fish and rays. The fish can either hide amongst the mussels or lay on the sand...

The Rocky Reef shows us what reefs in the cold California waters look like. They are similar to coral reefs but are made up of rocks instead of corals. They are just as important of a habitat as coral reefs and often serve as a nursery for many types of juvenile fish.

The Kelp Forest tank represents a distinct southern California marine habitat. This tank shows us what it looks like to swim at the edge of the kelp forest, where rocks become scarcer and sand more plentiful. Many of the animals in the tank can live their life deep...