Maine State Aquarium - West Boothbay Harbor, Maine

Nicole G.

I'm glad there was no charge last Wednesday when we went. The place is tiny with only a few tanks and a touch tank that was closed as soon as we tried to get in line. We took our time expecting another room to realize that was it. And it only took maybe 15 minutes. We allowed the kids to run around outside until the touch tank was opened again to see the line all around the building. We just left. The parking lot was smaller than the aquarium so people parked on both sides of an already small road making it only passable for one car at a time. Making a grid lock when a car was coming at you. It was honestly a nightmare. I didn't expect much but I expected more. If I ever return it will be in winter months when slow.

Kelly P.

I had read the reviews beforehand and I found them to be a bit harsh. Yes, parking lot was small but we made it work. Yes, the aquarium is small but seeing the different lobsters that are so incredibly rare was completely worth it. I would have been fine spending $10 each if they weren't waiving the fee currently. Learned things about lobsters I didn't know. Maybe not the best place for small children but definitely school age should enjoy it.

Misty C.

Very small! There's not much on display. Outdoors have plenty of space for little ones to roam.

Dale S.

We recently visited the Maine State Aquarium in West Boothbay Harbor and had a fantastic experience! Although the aquarium is relatively small (a single room), it is packed with fascinating exhibits and a variety of marine species. My kids were thrilled to see the rare blue lobsters, which we learned are a 1 in 2 million find! The highlight of our visit was definitely the touch tank, where my children enjoyed interacting with sea life from Maine's tidal pools.

The aquarium has just reopened and is still working on some exhibits, but that didn't dampen our fun. We had a great time exploring and learning about marine life in Maine. We will definitely be back once the work is completed. Highly recommend for a fun and educational family outing!

Meghan B.

The potential for this little aquarium is huge!The recent renovations look great in the one room aquarium. My 15 month old loved the touch tank and watching the fish swim around. The blue lobster was also very fun to see.
The location of this aquarium is a big draw. I hope there are plans for future expansion, maybe boat tours with hands on experiences or a gift shop. Would love to see this little gem continue to grow.

Jim L.

It was free to enter, and I felt ripped off. My daughter said there were more fish in the Hannaford grocery store. Ok, it is under construction so only the first room is open. There is a couple of tanks and a touch tank that was really cool to be able to experience that. It's just a long out of the way drive that I expected to spend 2 to 3 hours at, and we were done in 15 minutes. Hopefully, once it is fully open, we can go back and I can update my review. The workers were friendly and helpful. We also went there early in the week when it was closed, so we drove all the way back for this short adventure. The views of the bay from there are very nice. I think we spent more time out there figuring our next adventure, the Rail Village Museum, than inside the aquarium.

Sarah S.

Cute. Small. Under renovation it said. But still a very nice place to sit and get a good view.

April C.

Update: I am a little confused about your response as you said you will also have a jellyfish touch tank even though you mentioned the stress from people touching them kills them on a regular basis. How does that instill an appreciation for Maine's ecosystems or make you any different than the other touch tanks you were criticizing when we were there?

Extremely disappointed! We have been to aquariums all over the United States and I have always raved about how wonderful this one is to everyone. When we went 5 years ago, they had a shark touch tank, a huge additional touch tank with tons of different sea creatures, and enthusiastic, kind staff. When we went this time, they are under construction. They removed the shark touch tank and made the other touch tank area a fraction of the size it was before. They don't even let you touch the sea animals but a portion of each hour so if you show up during the times they aren't allowing people to touch, you can only look at them. All the reasons that I raved about this location before were essentially removed. When I inquired about what happened to the shark touch tanks with the 26 year old lobster, etc. the staff member who couldn't have been more than mid 20's went on a tangent about the culture changing and how it wasn't ethical to touch them because they don't like it. I then inquired about the fact that they are adding a moon jelly touch tank and why they would add that or allow the other sea animals to be touched, wouldn't they also not like being touched? She was extremely condescending and unfriendly once I inquired about that, almost as if I had made her angry for asking the question. Again, all the things that made me rave about how wonderful this place was before has completely changed for the worse. We drove 2 hours one way from where we are staying to end up leaving after less than 15 minutes. Really incredibly sad to see how bad things have gotten here. I truly wish we had not have come back as at least if I hadn't we would have still had the good memories of how great the location was before all these changes.