For visitors of all ages, the MERI Center for Marine Studies’ Ocean Aquarium offers a connection with life in the sea and an opportunity for experiential learning.  Our Ocean Aquarium houses an interactive touch tank and aquarium tanks featuring a friendly lumpfish named Norman, as well as lobsters, crabs, sea anemones, sea stars, mussels, fish and other species native to the Gulf of Maine. While appealing to all ages, the Ocean Aquarium room holds a special fascination for young people, drawing more than 300 children to MERI weekly during summer months. Time spent in the Ocean Aquarium is exciting for younger children attending our Friday morning Ocean Story Hour as well as students participating in MERI’s programs for local schools.

For the community at large, MERI’s Ocean Aquarium promotes a shared knowledge and appreciation of marine life in our waters and along our shores. For teachers and schools, the Ocean Aquarium builds excitement about marine science education in the classroom.  Above all, the Ocean Aquarium was designed to appeal to our children. The more they understand and feel connected with ocean life, the more deeply they will care about what happens to our oceans and the quality of life along our coast. 

Our guiding vision has been to create a dynamic aquarium at MERI that will increase our understanding of the Gulf of Maine and have a lasting positive impact on our community and its relationship to the sea.  By bringing the Gulf of Maine and its living resources to the heart of Blue Hill, the MERI Ocean Aquarium promotes stewardship of our coastal resources for future generations.