• Are the touch tanks open?

Our touch tanks are open this season! Here are some general rules for the touch tanks: 1) Rinse hands in sink 2) Ask a staff member before touching an animal 3) Touch the animals with your pinky finger only 4) Do not lift the animals out of the water 5) Not all of the tanks are finger friendly!

• Can I bring my dog? (Parrot/cat/tiny dog/llama/snake/turtle)

We do not allow pets inside the aquarium unless they are a certified service pet. We have many delicate displays and some low pools that may cause issues with pets. You are welcome to leave your furry friend leashed outside and come in and out of the aquarium as needed to ensure its well-being.

• Do I need to purchase a ticket in advance?

We do not sell tickets in advance, we are first come, first serve.

• Can we book a tour?

Due to the high volume of visitors we’re seeing these days, we no longer have the staffing capacity to offer personalized tours. We hope this is something we can offer again in the future, but for the time being, we hope you’ll visit us during regular hours and see the beauty of this year’s collection. We still have a wonderful team of enthusiastic staff who are available to answer any questions you may have during your visit.  If you are planning on visiting with a large group, please call us in advanced to ensure you can all visit at the same time. Since we’re a small aquarium, we have a limited capacity on the number of people who can be within the aquarium at once.

• Can I drop off my kids?

Children 16 years old or younger must to be accompanied by an adult.

• What do you have?

Our focus is on local fish and invertebrate species. As a collect-and-release aquarium, the residents of our displays change frequently depending on what is living in the local tidepools, kelp forests, and eelgrass beds we represent here in the aquarium. We showcase local sea urchins, rockfish, sea cucumbers, crabs, jellyfish, sculpins, and perch. We sometimes have squat lobsters and grunt sculpins, octopuses and feather duster tubeworms. We cannot guarantee we will always have your favorite specimen, but we may be able to introduce you to a new one!

• Do you have an octopus?

Maybe! We change our exhibits often and that includes our octopus exhibit. Giant pacific octopuses can double in size in 4 months, which means they are a species we release and collect frequently depending on their original collection size and how fast they grow. We know that octopuses are an animal that captures everyone’s hearts, but we also have a large number of beautiful, interesting, and intriguing fish and invertebrates that we would love to introduce you to if we’re currently octo-less!

• What time are you open?

Our season usually runs from March 1st to November 30th. Make sure to check our main page to see if we are open as our season does fluctuate. We are open every day of the season from 10 AM to 4:30 PM, with the last entry being at 4 PM. We recommend putting aside at least 45 minutes for your visit.

• Where can I park?

There is a lot of parking around town. The closest free parking is located right outside the Aquarium on Fraser Lane. There is also another larger lot that has free parking located on Cedar road behind the Crow’s Nest.

• Where can I park my RV?

You can park your RV at the free RV parking lot located on Cedar road just down and opposite from the RCMP station.

• Where is a good place to see tidepools?

Big beach is a wonderful place to explore, as are many of Ucluelet’s beaches! Just remember when you head out to always check the tides and be extremely careful on rocky shorelines and near waves and currents. The West coast can be a wild and dangerous place! Also remember to follow Leave No Trace principles – “Take only photographs, Leave only footprints”. It is important to leave shells on the beach so that calcium can return to the water and help build the next generation of snails, sand dollars and chitons. It is also important to remember not to pull animals off rocks, and to always put a rock back the way it was if you turn it over. Many animals breathe through their feet which are damaged if you remove them. Rocks in the intertidal zone create important refuge spaces for intertidal species by providing shelter from rain, wind, dehydrating sunshine, and predators. We imagine giants pulling roofs off our houses to see how cute we are, we’d want that roof back!

• What else is there to do in town?

We are a coastal community and that means we have a richness of coastlines- there are so many to explore! We also share this community with some wonderful artists and creators. Check out some of the local shops and galleries.

• What else is there to do in town when it’s raining?

There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing! Pioneer Boatworks, located just one minute away from us, is a great place to get rainwear. Once all geared up, the world is your oyster (no pun intended)!