North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores
On Thursdays, have your timbers shivered with after-hours Pirate Family Nights, a playful peek into our pirating past. Enjoy high seas hi-jinks from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. every Thursday from June 16 through Aug. 11. Activities are free with admission or membership. Ticket sales end at 7 p.m. on Family Nights.
Beginning Memorial Day weekend, take your visit to new heights with Winging It – Birds in Flight. Hawks, owls and other native North Carolina birds deliver conservation messages along with family entertainment as they soar overhead. Flights daily at 1 p.m. Boarding passes” are $4 in addition to Aquarium admission.
Any day you visit, explore sunken ships and their marine life– without getting wet. The Living Shipwreck features a replica of a World War II German U-boat sunk off the coast. Around it in the 306,000-gallon display glide 300-pound sharks, sea turtles, eels, schooling fishes and other creatures. Twice a day, divers chat with visitors through underwater microphones.
Nearly 40 other exhibits and thousands of animals take you on an unforgettable journey from North Carolina’s mountain waterfalls to its saltwater depths offshore. Watch playful river otters frolic. Make contact with stingrays and other creatures in the touch pools. See a rare white loggerhead sea turtle.
Explore the shore with snorkeling, fishing, surfing, kayaking and more outdoor adventures, or enhance your visit with behind-the-scenes tours and other indoor explorations, available for small additional fees. Enjoy dive presentations, animal feedings and live animal encounters every day, free with admission.
CONTACT: 252-247-4003; 800-832-FISH (3474); www.ncaquariums.com
click on Pine Knoll Shores
OPEN: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; closed Thanksgiving, Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. Open till 8 p.m. every Thursday June 16 – Aug. 11.
ACCESSIBILITY: Parking, indoor exhibits and restrooms are wheelchair-accessible.
GETTING HERE: Five miles west of Atlantic Beach at 1 Roosevelt Blvd, Pine Knoll Shores, NC 28512. GPS coordinates – 34°41’58”N, 76°49’46”W
ADMISSION: $8 ages 13-61, $7 age 62 and over, $6 ages 3-12. Children 2 and under admitted free.
AMENITIES: Parking free. Snack bar, souvenir photo service and Gift Shop on site.