The Portland Aquarium recently opened, promising a new place for Oregon families to get up close with local sea life. Our family visited the new attraction and, sadly, it does not live up to the hype.
Location and Prices
We had a difficult time finding the Portland Aquarium, which is housed inside a former Black Angus restaurant along McLoughlin Blvd. We visited in the evening and were able to find parking quickly (parking is free). But if you visit on weekends or peak times, parking can be difficult to find.
If you end up parking on the street or near the residential area, be extra mindful of any parking rules. The neighbors are not fond of the increased vehicle traffic and have been calling police for violations of blocked mailboxes and driveways, which has resulted in several tickets being issued.
Admission to the aquarium is $5 for ages 2-5, $9 for ages 6-11, and $11 for ages over 12. When we visited, the aquarium did not have anyone staffed to take tickets as we entered. We just stepped right into the gift shop and then headed into the first exhibit.
Setting Expectations
The Portland Aquarium primarily offers a mix of touch experiences and an assortment of fish on display in home aquarium sized tanks. Calling the location an “aquarium” is a misnomer, as it really feels like a fish store mixed with a party space.
The location’s name might actually be the source of my frustration. If you visit with the expectation of finding something like the Newport Aquarium or Seattle Aquarium, you will be disappointed.
It is hard to imagine this being anything more than a local attraction for school field trips or birthday parties. They really should call this place Fish World or Fish Land to set it apart from “aquariums” which typically offer much more.
The Sea Life
The first room you enter has a few touch experiences, including a large tank and a small boat that has been converted into an animal habitat.
My son and I enjoyed touching the various starfish and other sea life, of which there was plenty to see in the tanks. The focus is really on entertainment value than education. The exhibits are designed to maximize hands on time with the marine life, but has very little information available about the animals.
For a location that focuses on touch experiences, it was a surprise that hand washing stations were not available. The only sinks were located in the restrooms near the entrance. Several cloth towels are hung near the fish tanks so you could dry your hands. But the cloth towels are not a sanitary solution considering the number of people using them.
Overall, the exhibit space is dimly lit and hard to navigate with a stroller. We recommend leaving the stroller in the car and keeping a close eye on your children. It can be easy to lose sight of them in the dimly lit rooms.
Sharks and Stingrays
In the center of the building, you will find a large room with a tank filled with stingrays and small sharks. This was the highlight of our visit because of the size of the tank and the number of animals to touch.
The sides of the tank had several steps formed into the rock work, which allowed smaller children to get a better view. The aquarium also offered several household step stools, which I felt were a safety concern. I observed multiple children leaning dangerously from the step stools so they could touch the sea life. It seems like only a matter of time before someone gets hurt or falls into the tank.
This room also has an area with tables and chairs that can be reserved for birthday parties or other events. I read that the aquarium hopes to sell food and beer in the future, so this space might be used for that purpose.
Reptiles and Play Structures
It felt strange to see reptiles and birds at an “aquarium,” but a significant part of the building has non-aquatic animals on display.
There are several terrariums with tree frogs, chameleons, snakes, and lizards. Similar to the fish, the reptiles were displayed in home aquarium sized tanks. Overall, it felt like someone had brought in their personal collection of animals and created a makeshift zoo.
A large enclosure for lorikeet birds takes up the majority of the room. For an added fee, you can feed the birds. The room also has a large, multi-level play structure for children.
The structure felt unsafe and I caution parents against letting their children play in the area. The structure was held together with zip ties and already had tears in the netting.
I noticed there was haphazard wiring and exposed electrical sockets next to the play structure’s entrance. The design of the entire place seemed poorly thought out and done on the cheap.
A work in progress
The Portland Aquarium has two major rooms that are under construction for future exhibits and a large open area at the end of the building that is filled with random couches, folding chairs, and plastic tables. The signs in the construction areas indicate that puffins and sea otters will be added in spring 2013.
Our advice: Don’t rush to visit
Overall, the Portland Aquarium did not live up to our expectations. The exhibits were disappointing and the overall quality of the place was lacking. We recommend waiting until at least the spring to visit. This will give time for the aquarium to work out the bugs in their operation and to finish building the new exhibits.
Prior to the grand opening, the aquarium offered a discount on annual passes (which we purchased). Considering that we saw all of the exhibits in under 30 minutes, there isn’t a compelling reason to visit frequently. We recommend buying a single day pass before looking at an annual pass (no matter how good the deal might be).
We have already seen a Groupon deal for the Portland Aquarium and anticipate there will be more discounts in the future. Keep an eye on Living Social and other discount sites for deals if you are considering a visit to the Portland Aquarium.
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Thank you for the info. I had seen the pass on Groupon and didn’t buy it. Now I’m glad that I didn’t!
I’m glad the info helped. We made the mistake of buying the annual pass before the place opened. It is also worth reading the Oregonian’s coverage of how one of the owners has been arrested multiple times due to issues with how animals were purchased for the aquarium.