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TOP 25 AQUARIUMS IN THE UNITED STATES

Welcome to Bigroads.com's guide to the aquariums of the United States!

The United States is blessed with well over 100 aquariums. To help you make the best of your travel money and time, we have put together an opinionated list of what we believe to be the top 25 aquariums in the United States. It is not an easy task to pick 25 aquariums out of a pool of more than 100, so this web-page will forever be a work-in-progress as we travel & visit more aquariums across the USA. Take note that we have decided to include the three Sea World parks, even though they are more about live animal shows than traditional aquarium exhibits. We have, however, excluded parks and attractions that are mostly dolphin-focused (Florida has a lot of these).

Before you visit an aquarium, explore their website so that you can understand all the special events and programs that they offer. Many of these aquariums offer attractions like touch tanks, live animal demonstrations, whale-watching tours, IMAX theaters, kid sleepovers, scenic boat tours, and the ability to swim with dolphins and other creatures.

This top 25 list is sorted alphabetically by state (and not by quality or rank). Please send us an email at gparsons66@hotmail.com if you believe we have missed any of the very best aquariums in the United States.

STATE	AQUARIUM NAME	TOWN / CITY
California	Aquarium of the Pacific	Long Beach
California	Birch Aquarium at Scripps	San Diego (La Jolla)
California	Monterey Bay Aquarium	Monterey
California	SeaWorld San Diego	San Diego
Colorado	Downtown Aquarium	Denver
Florida	Clearwater Marine Aquarium	Clearwater
Florida	Florida Aquarium	Tampa
Florida	Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium	Sarasota
Florida	SeaWorld Orlando	Orlando
Georgia	Georgia Aquarium	Atlanta
Hawaii	Maui Ocean Center	Ma'alaea (Maui)
Illinois	Shedd Aquarium	Chicago
Kentucky	Newport Aquarium	Newport
Louisiana	Audubon Aquarium of the Americas	New Orleans
Maryland	National Aquarium	Baltimore
North Carolina	North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher	Kure Beach
North Carolina	North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores	Pine Knoll Shores
Oregon	Oregon Coast Aquarium	Newport
South Carolina	Ripley's Aquarium	Myrtle Beach
Tennessee	Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies	Gatlinburg
Tennessee	Tennessee Aquarium	Chattanooga
Texas	Dallas World Aquarium	Dallas
Texas	SeaWorld San Antonio	San Antonio
Texas	Texas StateAquarium	Corpus Christi
Virginia	Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center	Virginia Beach

RUNNER-UPS: AQUARIUMS ALMOST GOOD ENOUGH TO MAKE THE TOP 25 LIST

Here are a list of other great aquariums in the United States that we considered for the top 25 list above. Please email us @ gparsons66@hotmail.com if you think there are any other aquariums that we should be considering, either for this "runners-up" list or for the top 25 list itself.

STATE	AQUARIUM NAME	TOWN / CITY
Alaska	Alaska SeaLife Center	Seward
California	Steinhart Aquarium	San Francisco
California	Aquarium of the Bay	San Francisco
Connecticut	Mystic Aquarium	Mystic
Florida	Gulf World Marine Park	Panama City Beach
Florida	SEA LIFE Aquarium	Orlando
Florida	Miami Seaquarium	Miami
Hawaii	Waikiki Aquarium	Honolulu (Oahu)
Massachusetts	New England Aquarium	Boston
Massachusetts	Woods Hole Aquarium	Woods Hole
New Jersey	Adventure Aquarium	Camden
North Carolina	North Carolina Aquarium	Manteo
Oklahoma	Oklahoma Aquarium	Jenks
Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium	Pittsburg
South Carolina	South Carolina Aquarium	Charleston
Texas	Moody Gardens	Galveston
Texas	Downtown Aquarium	Houston
Washington	Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium	Tacoma
Washington	Seattle Aquarium	Seattle

TOP 10 AQUARIUMS IN THE USA

Here are the ten best aquariums in the United States:

Aquarium of the Pacific (Long Beach, California)
Audubon Aquarium of the Americas (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Dallas World Aquarium (Dallas, Texas)
Georgia Aquarium (Atlanta, Georgia)
Monterey Bay Aquarium (Monterey, California)
National Aquarium (Baltimore, Maryland)
North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher (Kure Beach, North Carolina)
Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga (Tennessee)
Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies (Gatlinburg, Tennessee)
Shedd Aquarium (Chicago)

Aquarium of the Smokies, Gatlinburg, Tennessee

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