Discover the best zoos and aquariums across the country. ThrillZing covers admission, must-see exhibits, animal encounters, and reciprocal membership tips for every major zoo and aquarium — plus the latest news from the world of wildlife attractions.
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/ August 12, 2026
Clearwater Marine Aquarium is a nonprofit marine rescue and rehabilitation facility on Clearwater Beach, Florida, built in a former water treatment plant. What began in 1972 as the Clearwater Marine Science Center has grown into one of the best-known aquariums in the country, driven by
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tz
/ August 11, 2026
Vancouver Aquarium opened on June 15, 1956, in Vancouver’s Stanley Park, becoming Canada’s first public aquarium. Over the decades it grew into the largest aquarium in Canada and one of the five largest in North America, drawing visitors into galleries devoted to Pacific Canada, the
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/ August 11, 2026
Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada opened on October 16, 2013, just southeast of the CN Tower in downtown Toronto, becoming one of the city’s most visited attractions almost overnight. Built at a cost approaching CA$130 million, the aquarium spans roughly 135,000 square feet and houses more
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/ August 11, 2026
S.E.A. Aquarium opened on 22 November 2012 as the centerpiece of the Marine Life Park at Resorts World Sentosa on Sentosa Island, Singapore. Built around a colossal main tank and an acrylic viewing panel that was once the largest of its kind in the world,
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/ August 10, 2026
The Lisbon Oceanarium, known locally as Oceanário de Lisboa, opened in 1998 as the centerpiece of the Expo ’98 world’s fair and has since grown into one of the largest indoor aquariums in Europe. Built on a pier in an artificial lagoon within Parque das
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/ August 10, 2026
Chimelong Ocean Kingdom opened on March 29, 2014, on Hengqin Island in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China, as the marine-life centerpiece of the sprawling Chimelong Ocean Kingdom Resort. Designed by PGAV Destinations and built for its first phase, the park set five Guinness World Records on
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/ August 10, 2026
Ocean Park Hong Kong opened on January 10, 1977, on the southern coast of Hong Kong Island in Wong Chuk Hang, making it the territory’s second-oldest theme park. Spread across roughly 226 acres (91.5 hectares) of hillside and waterfront, the park splits into a Waterfront
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/ August 9, 2026
Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo opened on November 4, 2008, inside the Dubai Mall, instantly becoming one of the largest suspended aquariums on Earth. Its centerpiece is a viewing panel that once set a Guinness World Record as the largest acrylic panel ever made, measuring
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/ August 9, 2026
The New York Aquarium sits along the Riegelmann Boardwalk in Coney Island, Brooklyn, where it has operated since relocating there in 1957. Originally opened on December 10, 1896, at Castle Garden in Battery Park, it holds the distinction of being the oldest continually operating aquarium
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/ August 8, 2026
Miami Seaquarium opened on September 24, 1955, on Virginia Key in Biscayne Bay, Florida, and was, at the time, billed as the largest marine-life attraction in the world. Founded by Fred D. Coppock and Captain W.B. Gray, the 38-acre oceanarium became one of the oldest
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/ August 8, 2026
The New England Aquarium has anchored Boston’s Central Wharf since it opened on June 20, 1969, becoming one of the city’s most visited cultural institutions. Designed by architect Peter Chermayeff of Cambridge Seven Associates as part of a broader revitalization of Boston’s historic waterfront, the
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tz
/ August 7, 2026
The National Aquarium opened on August 8, 1981, at Pier 3 on Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, transforming a stretch of declining waterfront into one of the city’s signature attractions. Congress designated it the country’s national aquarium in 1979, even though it was built without federal funding,
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/ August 6, 2026
The Shedd Aquarium opened on May 30, 1930, on Chicago’s lakefront as a gift from retail executive John G. Shedd to the city. Housed in a Beaux Arts building designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, it holds the distinction of being the first inland
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tz
/ August 6, 2026
The Calgary Zoo opened on January 9, 1929, and has grown into one of Canada’s premier wildlife attractions, spread across 125 acres on St. George’s Island in the Bow River in the Bridgeland neighborhood of Calgary, Alberta. Operated by the Wilder Institute, the zoo is
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tz
/ August 6, 2026
The Toronto Zoo opened on August 15, 1974, in Scarborough, Ontario, replacing the much smaller Riverdale Zoo that had served the city since the 1890s. Spread across roughly 710 acres (287 hectares) along the Rouge River valley, it is Canada’s largest zoo by area and
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/ August 5, 2026
Taronga Zoo overlooks Sydney Harbour from the suburb of Mosman, offering one of the most scenic zoo settings in the world. Opened at its current harbourside site on October 7, 1916, after relocating from an earlier home at Moore Park, the zoo takes its name
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tz
/ August 5, 2026
Auckland Zoo has welcomed visitors to Western Springs since December 16, 1922, when it opened with animals purchased from a private collector’s shuttered menagerie. Run today by Auckland Council through Auckland Unlimited, the 16.35-hectare (40-acre) park has grown from a modest municipal collection into New
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/ August 5, 2026
Melbourne Zoo opened on 6 October 1862 in Royal Park, Parkville, about 4 kilometers north of Melbourne’s city center, making it the oldest zoo in Australia. It was modeled after London Zoo and originally served as an acclimatisation station for domestic animals arriving from long
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/ August 4, 2026
Ueno Zoo sits inside Ueno Park in Taitō, Tokyo, and has operated continuously since March 20, 1882, making it Japan’s oldest zoological garden. Over nearly a century and a half it has grown from an early Meiji-era menagerie into the country’s most-visited zoo, home to
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tz
/ August 4, 2026
The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, known simply as the Chengdu Panda Base, is a non-profit research and conservation facility founded in 1987 in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. It began with just six giant pandas rescued from the wild and has grown into the
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