Maui Ocean Center
add photos17 Reviews for Maui Ocean Center
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00 families found this helpful
"Nice Aquarium"
The Maui Ocean Center is nice and clean. The variety of fish on site is wonderful. If you get a chance to sit in on the informational speaker at the Shark Tank, do it! We learned a lot and enjoyed the stories shared.
We ate at their restraunt rather than the food court, had great service and a good view of the harbor.
The entry fee seems high, but there are savings to be found if you do a little research before you go. We booked our tickets on-line in advance to save.
Plan to spend 2-3 hours.
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0 families found this helpful
"Nice little Aquarium, but expensive"
We visit Aquariums a lot. We had been to this one years ago, before we had the lad, and went back in March and took him along. Our favorite things were seeing turtles and sharks. They have some varieties that other aquariums don't, and the turtles were a new thing (for our guy) as they are helping with the rehabilitation effort to increase their populations. Adults were $26/each, which for an aquarium this size seemed a bit steep (we got through it in about an hour, but could have spent longer if it wasn't so close to nap time). It is a great activity for those rainier days.
0 families found this helpful
"Great for learning about Hawaiian marine life."
The Maui Ocean Center is a relatively small but very nice aquarium. It has a wonderful living reef that contains marine life that you can only find in the Hawaiian islands. The highlight for the kids is the glass tunnel that passes through a very large fish tank complete with rays and sharks that pass under and over you as you watch from this uniquely safe and dry position. They will also enjoy checking out the turtles in the Turtle Lagoon. It should take about 2-3 hours to view the whole center and most of it is indoors which makes it a good rainy day option for families. It is a bit overpriced we think based on what you pay for much larger aquariums on the mainland. Watch for discounts in island brochures or check their website for online discounts. Overall, if you have kids, they will absolutely enjoy this excursion. There are bathrooms onsite as well as food options and there are some good restaurants in the adjacent shopping center, including a wonderful ice cream shop!
Visit www.jackandjilladventureshawaii.com for more information on family friendly activities in the Hawaiian Islands. Find us on facebook at www.facebook.com/jackandjilladventureshawaii.com
0 families found this helpful
"Great Aquarium "
Beautiful!! Well kept!! Fun!! Amazing creatures!! Quaint!! Worth a visit!! We went on a windy day but once on the grounds, most was quite sheltered and we had a great time. What a cute little aquarium. Love how it's right beside the ocean because we looked out and seen humpback whales. Both adults and children of all ages will enjoy this beautiful little aquarium.
0 families found this helpful
"Ocean Center"
Toured this ocean center in 2007 and will be going back w/the kids in 2012 ! Lots of variety and wonderful jellyfish, too ! Large gift shop (of course) and something for everyone. Buying a value pass in 2012 w/Atlantis Submarine.
Value pass also includes a plantation tour and museum tour.
0 families found this helpful
"Great Aquarium"
There is so much to see and do at this aquarium. The feature is an enormous shark tank with big, active sharks. They swim right by the glass so you can get a great look. There are also great tanks with sea turtles. They have a nice gift shop and areas to eat. Great place to take kids.
0 families found this helpful
"Buy the weekly pass"
This is a fantastic, though spendy excursion. However, for $12 more per person you can get the weekly pass. When we traveled with my 1 year old we went 3 times in one week -- placing it twice at either-end of another journey. And when she had a complete meltdown 20 minutes in on the second trip, we didn't sweat leaving.
0 families found this helpful
"We go every year!"
Although quite expensive, they do offer a weekly pass for the price of one admission, which comes in handy if you are able to go more than once. Our children love it here and have found something even though they keep getting older (obviously!).
I always recommend this to families we know who are going to Maui because it can be a nice day out of the sun.
You can also get on the email list and watch the various offers that may be coming up on your trip.
0 families found this helpful
"Perfect for a rainy day"
Despite it's small size, the Maui Ocean center packs a lot in. Exhibits are clean and well-designed. Kids of all ages will find plenty to keep them occupied.
The aquarium is located in a random little strip mall, which means there is plenty of parking as well as an assortment of restaurants to chose from after your visit.
0 families found this helpful
"Nice place to visit"
Visiting the Maui Ocean Center is a nice way to spend 2-3 hours. It's not as big as other aquariums that we've visited, but there was lots to see nonetheless. I would recommend eating at the restaurant onsite, which was much better than I expected. This is a good activity for kids of all ages, especially if you are looking for an alternative to going to the beach.
0 families found this helpful
"Son enjoyed"
This was a beautiful center, and they had a lot of different tropical fish. It was small but worth it. My son was 5 when we went and he really enjoyed it. It may not be something I do everytime I visit but its worth taking your children there for a few hours to get out of the sun or for something different to do.
0 families found this helpful
"Fab Fish"
The MOC is approximately a 1/2 from the Ka'anapali hotels. It is a great way for kids to understand what lies beneath the ocean they are swimming in while they are staying on Maui for the week. The exhibits are fabulous both inside and out. A few, like the tide pool, allow for hands-on exploration.
2 families found this helpful
"Learn About Hawaiian Sea Life"
If we lived on Maui we would definitely purchase season passes. The Maui Ocean Center is a great place for kids to learn about sea life in Hawaii.
They have all kinds of exhibits from Hawaiian Sea Turtles to sharks to manta rays and are displayed in a way that you'll get the full effect on how magnificent these creatures are. My kids also enjoyed the touch pool where they could gain hands-on experience on how these creatures actually feel.
Our favorite part of MOC is the acrylic tunnel that goes through a 750-gallon open ocean exhibit featuring various fish, sharks, rays, and turtles. It's a once in a lifetime experience and your kids won't want to leave!
The only thing is that it does get very windy there so make sure you have everything secured . . . especially long hair. I remember heading for the gift shop just so I could by a hair band. :-)
It's not an all day event which is good for little kids. You could probably get through everything in about 60 - 90 minutes. There's also a great view of Maalaea Harbor and lots of cool photo ops!
1 family found this helpful
"Up close and personal"
We loved it!!!
We arrived at the Maui Ocean Center just before lunch, so decided to eat inside. We went to the cafe and had a simple yet delicious meal of blt wraps, hot dog, and drink, which filled us up and we were ready to go.
We started our adventure with the outdoor exhibits, which we found to be very fun. There is a pool area where you can touch the sea stars, mussels, and sea cucumbers. Our sons refused to stick their hands in the water, so my husband and I lifted the animals to the surface of the water for them to feel. We found an empty mussel shell and my oldest son (3 years) and I discussed where the mussel might have gone. 10 seconds later my husband called us over to where he was because he found a sea star eating another mussel. It was really neat for our boys to actually see nature in action.
Other outdoor exhibits included a turtle tank and a hammerhead shark tank. Both are built so you can look over the top of the tank or through a clear glass on the side to see the animals swimming.
The indoor part was amazing. You walk in and there are a bunch of interactive displays that teach you about whales, dolphins, and seals. We found out from a volunteer that it's illegal for them to have lives whales, dolphins, and seals because they are mammals and as soon as they come in contact with humans they become dependent.
As you move through the building, there are more shark tanks, fish tanks, and jelly fish tanks. The best part of inside was the glass tunnel. Basically, the entire tunnel is made of see through plexi-glass and all around you in the tank. The floor is solid, but there is one spot you can look through to see under you. It was so bright and the fishes were carelessly swimming all around. You could see their tops, sides, and bottoms as they swam.
It took some getting used to for our youngest son, but as soon as he got comfortable, he was all excited about pointing to all the animals. He even built up the courage to stand on the look through area of the floor. I'm betting he could have stayed in there for hours.
There are signs at all the outdoor exhibits that indicate when people will be at the exhibit to talk. We discovered that most didn't have any set monologue to share, but were mostly there to answer questions. The people we talked to were very friendly and knowledgeable. We learned that the most dangerous animal at the Center were the turtles because they would bite people's hands or hit people with the claws on their flippers.
In addition to all the positives I've listed above, though, I should add there was one really big drawback for us. The indoor part has a lot of sections that are kind of dark. I think it's to highlight certain exhibits or animals. Our 3 year old son became very afraid. I was able to distract him a little while by pointing things out, but in the end he grabbed on to me, covered his face, started crying, and refused to open his eyes until we got outside.
It worked out okay for us because I sat outside with our 3 yrs old looking at his "favorite" hammerhead sharks, while my husband was able to take his time with our 18 mos. old with the inside exhibits.
I highly recommend the Maui Ocean Center to anyone that loves sea animals.
0 families found this helpful
"Fun aquarium with fish only found in Hawaii!"
This is a nice aquarium and a great place to spend an afternoon or morning. There are a lot of fish that you can only find in the islands. Also, they have a great sea turtle exhibit where you can really see them up close. There's also a tank which is a tunnel that you can walk through. You can see sharks and rays here. (This was probably one of our favorite exhibits!) If your children are into aquariums, this would be a good place to take them. However, if they are into being outside, a trip to the beach might be just as fun or even more so (and less expensive too!)
0 families found this helpful
"Fun with the Family"
This five-acre marine park has sixty exhibits, one a life-sized whale model. Don’t miss the shark feeding in the 54-foot, walk-through tunnel aquarium.
1 family found this helpful
"GREAT Location! "
What a great location for a aquarium/ocean center. This place is right on the ocean. It is very friendly and bright! The only issue is that you can do a walk through in a half an hour.
The Maui Ocean Center has all sorts of sea animals, a tide pool, and great atmosphere. There is also a great restuant right next door with a beautiful ocean view.
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