Tucked into a maritime forest on Bogue Banks, the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores has introduced generations of visitors to the creatures living just offshore of the Crystal Coast. Since opening in 1976, it has grown from a modest marine resources center into one of three state-run aquariums tracing the path of water from the mountains to the sea. The aquarium welcomes guests daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., closing only for Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
The facility’s signature feature is the Living Shipwreck, a massive tank built around a replica of the German U-boat U-352, sunk off the North Carolina coast during World War II and now patrolled by sand tiger sharks. Beyond the shipwreck, galleries follow freshwater streams, salt marshes, and open ocean habitats, anchored by a 32-foot indoor waterfall that greets guests at the entrance.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Pine Knoll Shores, North Carolina
- Opened: 1976 (expanded and reopened in 2006)
- Hours: Daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day)
- Size: About 93,000 square feet
- Water volume: About 430,000 total gallons (306,000-gallon largest tank)
- Species: About 300 species
- Annual visitors: About 400,000
- Famous for: The Living Shipwreck tank built around a replica of U-boat U-352
From Marine Center to Mountains-to-Sea Aquarium
The aquarium began life as one of three North Carolina Marine Resources Centers established in 1976. A $25 million renovation completed in 2006 more than doubled the building, growing it from roughly 35,000 to 93,000 square feet and introducing the ‘Mountains to the Sea’ theme that now organizes its five galleries around the journey of North Carolina’s waterways. In 2025, the aquarium added the Future Waters Gallery, where visitors can watch aquarists raise young marine species in an onsite conservation lab and coral facility.
The building sits within the Theodore Roosevelt Natural Area, a tract of maritime forest on Bogue Banks that descendants of President Theodore Roosevelt donated to the state in 1971 for nature education. Two trails, the Roosevelt Nature Trail and the Alice Hoffman Trail, let guests walk through that forest and an adjoining salt marsh boardwalk after touring the exhibits.
Sharks, Otters, and a Sunken Submarine
The Living Shipwreck remains the aquarium’s centerpiece: a 306,000-gallon saltwater tank modeled on the sunken U-352, home to sand tiger sharks, sandbar sharks, and nurse sharks that glide around the wreck’s girders. Elsewhere in the building, river otters, a tidal touch pool stocked with invertebrates, and skate and ray encounters give younger visitors hands-on moments with Carolina wildlife.
The aquarium has held accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums since 1990, and it marked its 50th anniversary across 2026 with special programming celebrating five decades of marine education on the Crystal Coast.
Explore more: Explore more zoos and aquariums.
Hauls kids, coolers and souvenirs across a big zoo or park, folds flat for the trunk.
Little hands reach in, snacks stay in — a lifesaver on long zoo days.
Easier on your back than carrying in arms all day at the zoo.
North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores FAQs
What are the hours for the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores?
The aquarium is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the only closures each year falling on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
What is the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores known for?
It’s best known for the Living Shipwreck, a 306,000-gallon tank built around a replica of the sunken WWII German submarine U-352 and patrolled by sand tiger sharks.
When did the aquarium open?
It opened in 1976 as one of three North Carolina Marine Resources Centers, then reopened in 2006 after a $25 million expansion that nearly tripled its size.
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Photo: Ken Thomas / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.