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, it quickly became one of Southeast Asia’s marquee marine attractions, drawing visitors into 45 million litres of water shared by more than 800 species of marine, brackish, and freshwater animals.
In 2025, the attraction closed for a major overhaul and reopened on 24 July 2025 as the Singapore Oceanarium, a facility reported to be roughly three times larger than its predecessor with 22 themed zones. The transformation kept the beloved S.E.A. Aquarium name alive in local memory while expanding the animal collection, habitats, and educational programming under Resorts World Sentosa’s ownership.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Sentosa Island, Singapore
- Opened: November 22, 2012 (as S.E.A. Aquarium); reopened July 24, 2025 as Singapore Oceanarium
- Water Volume: About 45 million litres (around 12 million US gallons)
- Species: Over 800 species
- Animals: About 100,000 individual animals
- Zones: 22 themed zones (post-2025 redesign)
- Famous For: Once home to the world’s largest acrylic underwater viewing panel
Inside the Oceanarium
The heart of the experience is the Open Ocean habitat, a vast tank patrolled by schooling fish, rays, and sharks that visitors view through a sweeping acrylic panel. Other zones such as Shipwrecked! and Apex Predators of the Seas immerse guests among zebra sharks, moray eels, and other reef and pelagic species, while dedicated habitats showcase seahorses, jellyfish, and coral gardens.
When it opened in 2012, the facility briefly held the record for the world’s largest oceanarium by total water volume before being surpassed by Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in China in 2014. It has also housed Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins as part of its Ocean Diversity programming.
From S.E.A. Aquarium to Singapore Oceanarium
After more than a decade under the S.E.A. Aquarium name, the attraction closed on 30 April 2025 for a ground-up redevelopment. It reopened weeks later, on 24 July 2025, rebranded as the Singapore Oceanarium, with Resorts World Sentosa describing the new version as roughly three times the size of the original and organized into 22 zones, including new prehistoric-ocean themed experiences.
Despite the name change, the site remains part of the Marine Life Park within Resorts World Sentosa and continues to be widely referred to by its former name among longtime visitors and travel guides.
Explore more: Explore more zoos and aquariums.
S.E.A. Aquarium FAQs
Is S.E.A. Aquarium still open?
The attraction closed on April 30, 2025 for a major redevelopment and reopened on July 24, 2025 under a new name, the Singapore Oceanarium, at the same Resorts World Sentosa location.
How much water does the aquarium hold?
The original S.E.A. Aquarium held about 45 million litres (around 12 million US gallons) of water across its exhibits, with a largest single tank of about 18 million litres.
How many species live at the aquarium?
It was home to more than 800 species and roughly 100,000 individual marine, brackish, and freshwater animals at the time of its original opening.
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Photo: ProjectManhattan / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.