Jungle
Start your adventure in the Jungle and discover the unique wildlife and geography of the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve in Mexico’s Eastern Yucatán Peninsula. Meet bright pink flamingos lounging in lagoons and fish, tortoises and shorebirds in search of food. Don’t be surprised if a crocodile pops its head out of the water to greet you as you pass by the exhibit’s Karst pool. If you notice movement in the trees overhead, it is the Jungle’s slow-moving Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth.
Nearshore
The immersive Nearshore exhibit portrays life at the shoreline. Experience the sights and sounds of shorebirds like the roseate spoonbill and white ibis. Other marine life you will encounter in this exhibit include cownose rays, flounder, spotted sea trout, hermit crabs and the American alligator.
Tentacles
Get an up close look at some of the most fascinating and mesmerizing creatures of the sea. Tentacles focuses on jellyfish species, as well as cephalopods, such as octopus and cuttlefish species. Interact with jellyfish in a touch area and watch the birth and growth cycles of seahorses, egg casings and juvenile cephalopods and jellies.
Blue Hole
Discover the deep underwater caverns that descend hundreds of feet below sea level, a unique and often unseen habitat of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. Take a look at this exhibit from the surface, then head below to an underwater viewing area. You might come face to face with one of the nurse sharks, tarpon or French grunts that call the Blue Hole exhibit home.
The Coral Reef
See the unparalleled beauty of the Caribbean’s coral reefs. The Aquarium’s Coral Reef exhibit replicates the features of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef off the coast of the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve. While the overlook view of this exhibit may not seem like much, its underwater viewing point is a vibrant scene. Watch as queen angelfish, banded butterflyfish and rock beauty play hide and seek among bright and oddly shaped coral.
H-E-B Caribbean Sea Shark Exhibit
Take a thrilling look at one of the ocean’s most infamous predators, the reef shark. An overlook offers a first glimpse of reef sharks. Head to the below viewing area to get a closer look at the Aquarium’s reef sharks and other aquatic species that coexist with them like the great barracuda and southern stingrays. At the center of the exhibit is a massive Spanish galleon shipwreck, remnant of the Caribbean’s history as a trade route.
Dolphin Bay
Dolphin Bay is a 400,000-gallon saltwater exhibit with above and below water viewing areas. Meet the Aquarium’s Atlantic bottlenose dolphins that call Dolphin Bay home, Shadow and Kai.
Flower Gardens
Flower Gardens is a replica of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, located 300 miles out the Aquarium’s back door in the Gulf of Mexico. See blue tang, cownose rays, wrasse, filefish, grunt and parrotfish as they dart about the 40,000-gallon tank.
Islands of Steel
Islands of Steel is the Aquarium’s largest exhibit, offering an underwater look at a habitat formed around an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico. See red drum, crevalle jack, cownose rays and pompano swimming about in a 125,000-gallon tank.
Living Shores
Discover the different habitats of the Laguna Madre and Padre Island bays and estuaries. Living Shores includes touch pools, six aquariums and three interactive computer kiosks.
Otter Creek
See North American River Otters, native to Texas and Otter Creek. This exhibit is designed so that you can watch the playful otters as they interact with each other and their trainers.
Stingray Lagoon
Touch and hand feed more than 30 stingrays. The Stingray Lagoon’s 10,000 gallons of seawater is home to stingrays representing the Southern, Atlantic and Cownose species, all indigenous to the Gulf of Mexico.
Swamp Tales
Learn about the successful conservation of the American Alligator and what you can do to protect species currently under threat in Swamp Tales. The highlight of this exhibit is Bo, a 10-foot American alligator. Six species of freshwater turtles are also featured in this exhibit.
Tortuga Cay
Meet green sea turtles, Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, hawksbill sea turtles and loggerhead sea turtles in Tortuga Cay, a natural lagoon-like habitat. All sea turtles in this exhibit were rehabilitated and then deemed non-releasable.
Shopping and Dining at the Texas State Aquarium
The Gift Shop
If time permits, stop by the Texas State Aquarium Gift Shop, carrying beautiful and unique keepsakes that will help you remember your visit to the Aquarium for years to come.
Pepsi Shoreline Grill
Refuel at the Aquarium’s Pepsi Shoreline Grill. Sandwiches and salads, pretzels, pizza, hot dogs and icy treats are available for purchase. While outside food and drinks are not permitted inside the Aquarium, there is lawn seating around the premises for guests who bring their own food and drinks.
- The Texas State Aquarium is ADA compliant. Wheelchairs are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Check the Aquarium’s program schedule to discover the daily dive shows, animal feedings, training sessions and “hands on” programs taking place during your visit.
- Be sure you wear comfortable footwear.