nantucket aquarium

Had a 9 year old with us so looking for kid stuff....while this is a small facility, the teens who work there are amazing. One 13 year old girl seemed to know an amazing amount of info about the sea creatures. Saw some different kinds of fish, and my son had a good time. Definitely worth the trip.

Tiny tiny tiny place. There two closets full of standard small table top aquariums which account for 2/3 of the place. The other part is like a 8 foot diameter kiddie pool. Literally could view entire collection in 5 minutes if you wanted to.

For the size of the aquarium, they have a lot of interesting animals. The aquarium interns know an incredible amount about the various animals and love to talk to visitors about the exhibits. Definitely a must see!

Not a"major" attraction, but a neat way to see some sea life up close... Great staff willing to field any and all questions and speak with you, your kids, your granny...Well run for what it is and it's size, never seemed to be trying to squeeze extra dollars out of visitors wallets. Actually able to touch a few creatures, depending on what is in the collection.

A small place but staffed with enthusiastic and knowledgeable young interns. The three young people made this visit lots of fun and educational. They have a "touch tank" which would be great for kids. In fact both my wife and I enjoyed it very much. Spent about an hour.

My whole family loves the aquarium and the educational programs they offer. We go every year and love the feeding frenzy and the marine ecology walks. The Maria Mitchell Association is a real treasure

The Maria Mitchell Aquarium on the edge of the Islands Historic district is a real treat. It offers visitors a view of marine life of the island's harbors and wetlands with some truly surprising items. Who would have thought that tropical fish on display here and caught in the island's waters would help stock the Boston Aquarium? There is touch tank for the younger visitors (the elder can plunge in too) and if you are lucky you might even see a blue lobster! It is deservedly one of the island's most popular attractions. Do not miss it - even if you are not interested in fish.

This is a small facility but you and your kids will love it. Because the aquarium is closed each off-season, the collection depends on what the scientists bring in in the spring from the sea, and the fish that is collected by friends and offered to the aquarium. Each September after Labor Day you can visit on Release Day when the fish are returned for the winter to the ocean. The aquarium has two small rooms with tanks with a collection of interesting local fish. On today's visit there was a super-rare orange lobster. Another tank is connected to a high-resolution camera which sends to a screen a large view of a tiny specimen: today we saw a star tunicate, which in super close-up is quite fascinating. Outside there is a pool which held a few specimens of sand sharks, a lobster, a few sea stars and a sea robin. You can view the fish and questions of one of the high-school intern.Finally there's a touch-me tank with lots of interesting specimens to pick up and examine and a helpful intern who works well with children.

My kids love this place! Don't go to the island with kids and not go here! It's small but a wonderful place. The staff is very knowledgeable and super friendly. Fun.

We have a membership with the Maria MItchell and can come here whenever we choose. Which is often. The kids love the touch tank, the open tank they are not allowed to touch but always try and the rooms along the side. It is small but allows for something a little different in their day. On a side note the MMA has great summer camps for young adventurers if you are coming for the week or so. They fill up fast but the staff for the camps and the aquarium are wonderful and knowledgeable. Love the Maria MItchell Association and all that they do.

Wonderful, quaint little cottage-style aquarium! Located right on Nantucket sound, the aquarium is GREAT for children! Despite consisting of only three small buildings and two outdoor exhibits, the aquarium is awesome, with very interesting and amazing creatures varying from pufferfish to squid to a baby octopus to sharks! And the touch tank is always a favorite! Oh, and did I mention that the staff are very polite and dedicated? We got our very own personal tour from several very friendly high school students! Overall, great experience and worth the admission fee.

So its called an aquarium but its more of a laboratory that they let visitors come and check out. we had an adorable highschool girl who truly knew her stuff tell us all about the touch tank where we were able to touch the different sea life found on Nantucket. she then escorted us the two separate rooms with different species of sea life and explained that they find new fish yearly and record them, releasing them back to the wild at the end of the season. so the fish i saw last week i will not see on my visit next year! truly awesome!