National Marine Aquarium

TODDLER TUESDAYS: Our Award Winning Toddler Tuesdays are back starting tomorrow!
These fun and educational sessions are aimed at teaching the little ones about our Oceans.
Places cost just £1.00 (on top of entry fee) and are first come first served.

And the winner is...Kay Sherman! Congratulations, You've won a free family ticket to the Aquarium! Simply message us your address and we'll post it over to you.
For those who didn't win this time, don't worry! Just keep an eye on our social media for more news and competitions!

Tickets are flying out for our next NMA Lates event. Wonder Women: Celebrating women in STEM in partnership with Plymouth Gin will be a fantastic night for all. Find out more details on the event here: http://www.national-aquarium.co.uk/…/nm a-lates-women-in-st…/

Today is the final day of our Sea-Lebrities Summer Holiday. We’ve had six weeks of celebrating Ocean Ambassadors including both animals we have here at the NMA and animals in our Oceans that help bring attention to conservation issues. We hope you've enjoyed our theme as much as we have!

Our next wellbeing event will be held on Monday 17th September and will be Yoga at the Aquarium.
As with all our wellbeing events we’ll be partnering with Nuffield Health Plymouth Fitness & Wellbeing Gym and this evening will be a perfect opportunity for anyone looking to try something new. All abilities welcome, book here: https://goo.gl/KCbSdd

Please be aware the Aquarium will be closing slightly earlier today due to a wedding celebration this evening. Last entry to the NMA will be at 4pm.

COMPETITION TIME: To celebrate our next adult only NMA | Lates: Wonder Women event, we're giving away a family ticket to the NMA. To win: LIKE our National Marine Aquarium page, LIKE this video and SHARE this post.
Winner announced on Monday! Why not tag someone you'd bring? If you'd like to book tickets to our next NMA|Lates for STEM & gin lovers! Click here: https://goo.gl/1Zy65c
Women in STEM Plymouth | Visit Plymouth | Plymouth Gin

We’ve had a great Summer here at the NMA. Please be aware today will be the final day in our extended opening hours and we’ll switch back to the normal 10am till 5pm opening times after today.

Not long until the kids go back to school for the next academic year.
Our Learning team have been hard at work all summer getting our learning programme, tours and workshops ready every single visit and outreach we do next year!

If a tiny Dumbo Octopus doesn’t make you ‘awww’ this Thursday morning we don’t know what will!
What do you think is the cutest animal in the sea?

ICYMI: Our next NMA Lates event is Wonder Women: Celebrating Women in STEM in partnership with Plymouth Gin. Taking place on September 12th.
There will inspirational talks, make your own gin cocktail stations & time to network in our exhibits. Tickets here: https://goo.gl/pqvuRh

A huge congratulations to Lewis Pugh on completing his mammoth swim to raise awareness for our Oceans!
It was an honour to have Lewis here at the NMA during his journey and a massive well done from everyone here at our marine conservation charity.

Diving in our Oceans is something that not everyone can do. This photographer spent four years returning to the same spot where sharks and grouper swarms battle for survival.
Look at his stunning photos in the article below.

A massive thank you to everyone who joined us on Jennycliff Beach today! We had so much fun looking in the rockpools, finding some amazing animals and of course doing a beach clean before we left.
Our final Beach Adventure of the Summer Holidays will be at Mount Batten Beach on Saturday from 3pm!

Octopuses are such fascinating animals. Take a look at this video of an Octopus with a strange ‘walk’. Watch the video to find out why.
Do you find Octopuses interesting?

BACK TO SCHOOL: If you're looking for the perfect back to school present then check out our new school range in our Ocean Gift Shop. We've got rucksacks, lunch bags, pencil cases and more! You can pick up everything in the image for less than £25.00!
You can nip into our Gift Shop at any time. Let us know what you think of our new range. Which is your favourite?

And the winner is... Keri Walker! Well done, you've won a free family ticket to the National Marine Aquarium! Private message us your address and we'll post your prize to you.
More competitions coming this week so keep an eye on our page.

NMA Boat Trips are going well...
Only joking! This amazing footage is of TAZ Whale Watching excursion off of Gustavus, Alaska. What a sight to see!

On the 12th September our Wonder Women evening will celebrate Women in STEM careers with talks from, Dr Lorna Dallas (Chair of WISP), Nicola Murray (Head of Discovery and Learning at the NMA) and Emma Whittle (Senior Biologist/ Diver at the NMA).
What better way to celebrate Women in STEM than with a G&T, provided by Plymouth Gin. Attendees will have the opportunity to make their own gin and tonic cocktail (Non-alcoholic options available). A representative from Plymouth Gi...n Distillery will give a fascinating overview of the history of the Distillery as well as an introduction to the Plymouth Gin distillation process and the botanicals which are used.
Tickets are £5.00 and an alcoholic/ non alcoholic drink is included. 18+
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We went on Friday and today with 4 young children. I cannot praise the staff enough for taking the time to speak to my 2 children, they were patient and informative. They answered any questions the children had. � thank you to them �

We visited the aquarium today (myself and my two boys) and had a fantastic time! Both the boys love watching the sea creatures, especially when they can get so close. In the rock pool area, my eldest was treated to a very informative tour by Curtis, which he loved and came away having learnt a lot. I really appreciated the effort made by staff to engage with children, as it can be tricky to balance what they each want to do. Thank you for a great afternoon, we’ll be back again soon!

We visited on a Tuesday as we found out about the toddler morning. My daughter and her friends aged 3 had a wonderful time, singing, learning about jellyfish and even got to make one. Lizzie who hosted was fantastic, keeping the children's interest and telling them facts about jellyfish whilst keeping it fun, she is a credit to the aquarium.

We had a brilliant trip to the aquarium today. My 2 and 3 year old loved all the tanks and came away talking about lots of the little creatures that captured their interest as well as the sharks! It was really informative for me too and relevant to the issues the ocean faces today. The staff were excellent with my eldest too and had so much patience answering all his questions and trying to show and tell him something interesting about the tank he was exploring. A great experience was had by all the family!

Visited today and did the VIP behind the scenes tour with my teenage children. Absolutely fascinating in itself but made all the better by the tour guides. Luke was so enthusiastic about the work of the aquarium and really involved us in the tour. Jill was so knowledgeable and added some amazing facts. It was made all the better by the fact that we were the only 3 being shown behind the scenes so felt very VIP. A normal visit to this amazing aquarium is a great day out anyway but the tour made it wonderful �

Really great visit to this aquarium yesterday, made all the more enjoyable due to the staff who were very friendly and helpful. The impromptu explorer lesson for my three year old was such a treat for him and he is still wearing his sticker like a badge of honour. Thank you so much

My Fiancé & I visited the Aquarium for the first time yesterday, the building is very good & accessible which was of great for my partner who needs her walker to get around.

The Aquarium is well laid out with lot of information, displays etc... the large viewing tank being a highlight along with being able to see all the fish at close quarters. Highly recommended for a visit when your staying in Plymouth.

Just been to the superheroes and princesses party event at the aquarium..brilliant! Great team of staff, lovely range of activities, suitably excited three year old! Thank you all for giving up your evening!

If you do a pass plus ticket you can return to the aquarium as often as you like during the next 12 months. Their Toddler Tuesday group is great fun for older toddlers teaching them about the marine world around them in a fun way. We can't wait to join in their Ocean Todd's group making a fire, creating dens for teddies , finding pirate treasure on the beach and rock pooling amongst other things.

I love this place, always notice something different each time I go. People complaining about prices, it’s a charity, you pay once & can return at any point within the next year. The aquatic life are cared for so well, the staff are so knowledgeable & really have an interest in what they talk about. Fantastic place to be!

Had a fab day today at the Aquarium with my 7 month old. He was captivated by all the tanks and sat for ages just watching them. I haven't been for a while but lots has been updated since I last visited. The tanks and displays are all looking fab! Take the time to really look in the tanks and at the information on display and you'll make the most of your visit. I'm looking forward to many more visits over the years with my boy as he grows �

By far the best aquarium I've been to! My 2 year old absolutly loved it! We could have spent hours looking at the big tanks with the sharks and turtle. My parents loved it as much as my daughter did. A truly fab family outing.

As a family of adults we had a fantastic time. What made it so interesting was the way the staff interacted with us. Summer and Luke in particular being able to answer our questions. Well done

Great day out withy little boy, however I gave 4 stars as I had the fish and chips at the cafe and it was disgusting some cheap bulk bought pre battered fish, overcooked and greasy do not order. Considering they are in a town with an abundance of fresh fish available I was very dissapointed. Otherwise the actual aquarium was excellent.

Bring back the craft room! Didn’t venture into the soft play but my 6 year old was gutted that the craft has disappeared.

Ok, so it’s 30 years old, and it looks like it in places. No doubt a popular place to go with families etc but can’t help but feel it’s a little outdated. As for getting a snack for lunch, don’t even go there! I suggest you take your own, minimal selection and service so slow that hot food was going cold by the time you got to your table. Disappointing place to visit for what they charge

I visited the Aquarium yesterday with family, and whilst we really enjoyed seeing the sea life and being able to hear a talk on specific species I left feeling a little underwhelmed.



One of the issues you highlight as being harmful to sea life is the amount of plastic waste that ends up in the sea.



So why then, NMA, is your gift shop filled with plastic tat? I noticed that you do have a small range of eco friendly and responsibly sourced toys for kids but there is still a considerable amount of plastic crap in the gift shop.

Great tanks, slightly lacklustre between the animals/exhibits. Very pricey entry, I wouldn’t say this price reflects value for money once inside. Almost £50 for two adults and a 6 year old seems extortionate. It didn’t take us long to get around and the toilet facilities are in huge need of an update and a good clean. Staff around the exhibits were very informative and engaging, staff in service areas such as tills, cafes etc, not so much. I really do love Plymouth aquarium, but either the prices should drop substantially to reflect the experience, or a few things need to come up to date and up to standard for the ebtry fee to be acceptable. I of course understand the hugs running and reasesrch costs of such an attraction, but this is from a paying visitors point of view.

I had my daughter birthday there this weekend. I wanted to do something different and from what it sounded like, it was going to be fun! Firstly the staff at reception didn’t even know there was a party happening which made me quite nervous! To begin with I think the kids were really engaged, however the balance of fun and information wasn’t right and they never got to find Dr plastic!!!! (They were super hero’s trying to find him) Also 60 minutes for children to eat is way too long.... whoever thought of that obviously haven’t got kids or havent been to kids parties! The staff in the cafe were excellent making sure we had everything we needed, but there could have been a bit more variety with the food, maybe some fruit bits. And there was no party host to help at the end to get the children from the cafe to downstairs. I wouldn’t have a party again there I’m afraid.