Maui Ocean Center, Aquarium
Hawaiian ocean related homeschool resources are listed below post.
Maui’s Maalaea Harbor is one of the windiest harbors in the world. It is full of endless water activities, vibrant rainbows, warm ocean breezes and breathtaking scenery. It is also home to Maui Ocean Center, a one-of-a-kind aquarium that is sure to blow you away!
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One of the world’s largest displays of live Pacific corals can be seen at Maui Ocean Center. The aquarium features only marine life found in Hawaii and the location is amazing, with gorgeous views of Haleakala and Maalaea Harbor.
Recently named one of the “Top 10 Aquariums in the World” by Trip Advisor, this place is sure to impress! While on vacation, our family spent an afternoon exploring at Maui Ocean Center. It easily holds the #1 spot on our list of favorite aquariums.
Bursting with plenty of family-friendly, hands-on activities and beautiful ocean animals, Maui Ocean Center is a fantastic place to learn and make memories together.
Check out our lists of Over 30 Incredible Ocean Themed Books, Games and Resources and Over 50 Amazing Resources for Kids, All About Hawai’i!
“See that line, where the sky meets the sea, it calls me!” ~ Moana
With so much to explore, you may have a hard time deciding what to do first. I’m going to share some of our family’s Maui Ocean Center favorites!
Aloha, Turtle Lagoon
Hawaii is home to three species of endangered sea turtles:
The Green Sea Turtle is the most commonly found in Hawaii. It is my personal favorite too… just look at that face! Hawaiians lovingly refer to these cuties as Honu. They are a symbol of good luck, wisdom, patience and a long life.
Turtle Lagoon provides a safe way to admire Hawaii’s endangered Green Sea Turtles. The exhibit offers plenty of viewing options with above and below water areas. The turtles are fun to watch as they seem to “fly” peacefully through the water, enjoying life on “island time.”
Daily presentations are given at the lagoon, and offered weekly is “Turtle-rrific Tuesdays,” a chance to watch a veterinarian perform a routine check-up. I recommend checking the calendar of events for all things turtle, prior to planning your visit.
Federal and state laws protect all species of sea turtle that call Hawaii home. While visiting the islands you will likely encounter sea turtles along the shores, basking or swimming. We’ve been surprised by several ourselves! It is very important that you follow all rules and regulations in regard to their well-being. They’re counting on you!
Hawaii Wildlife Fund is a non-profit organization that works tirelessly through education, research and volunteering to conserve Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles and other native wildlife. They’ve partnered with Maui Ocean Center to come and give presentations on how you too can help to protect Hawaii’s marine life. Scheduled talks can be found on the calendar of events.
Behind the Scenes Tour
A HIGHLY recommended, absolute must for everyone! The Behind the Scenes Tour is scheduled twice a day. Only 12 guests are allowed per tour, so advance reservations are recommended.
The tour offers a glimpse into what it takes to care for the animals living at the aquarium. My whole family LOVED this! It was such a personal experience.
Our guides had so much information to share! They were very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the marine life at Maui Ocean Center. Headsets were provided so we wouldn’t miss a thing.
The Aquarium Lab
Our tour began in the Aquarium Lab, where we first met coral polyps, tiny animals related to jellyfish and sea anemones. Coral polyps are the builders responsible for the beautiful reefs found in our oceans. Coral Reefs provide homes for countless marine wildlife.
Maui Ocean Center works to protect coral polyps and their handiwork by organizing reef clean-ups throughout the year. Mahalo (thank you in Hawaiian) for all of your efforts and hard work.
While inside the lab we also learned about the seahorses at the aquarium. Lucky for us it was feeding time! We watched as they were fed thousands of tiny, bright orange shrimp hatchlings.
Baby Sea Turtles
Once outside we were shown the Green Sea Turtle nursery. Trust me, it is just as adorable as it sounds! Maui Ocean Center provides a temporary home for relocated honus before their release back into the ocean. You are sure to fall in love with these ambassadors for their species.
In the wild it is rare to see hatchlings on Hawaii’s beaches. Sea turtles hatch at night and immediately head for the ocean. They find the water by following the moon to the horizon.
“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.” ~ Jacques Cousteau
Sea turtles spend the first portion of their life, “The Lost Years” at sea. Throughout their lives they wander at sea, far from land, travelling thousands of miles a year. Once young adults, they return to the same beach they hatched on to nest. Being able to see hatchlings at the aquarium is truly something special!
Feeding Time
To finish up our Behind the Scenes Tour we were given the opportunity to help the marine naturalist feed the sea turtles and sharks. Our kids were very excited to feel this close to these animals.
Sea turtles are VERY cute while eating their floating feast. They take things slowly, enjoying each bite.
Sharks on the other hand are very quick to gobble up their food! They would swim over and claim their meal right away. We enjoyed being a part of caring for the sharks… even if their menu was a little stinky.
Tide Pool
After seeing how the aquarium staff takes care of the marine life, we wanted to get a feel for it ourselves. The hands-on Tide Pool exhibit was just the thing to help. Located outside and surrounded by gorgeous views and plenty of ocean breezes, this was quite a treat!
There are several species of harmless marine life you can actually touch. Sea cucumbers are pretty interesting to feel!
The Tide Pool is centrally located and is hard to resist when walking by. Our family made several stops here to spend time with our new aquatic friends. The shade canopy and ocean views provide a great place to stop and soak it all in…we’re hanging out with sea life on Maui! Wow!
Mahalo Nui Loa
Our family is truly thankful to have spent an afternoon with Maui Ocean Center. The aquarium and location are perfect and the marine life within are stunning. We learned so much during our visit and couldn’t have asked for a better day!
“Mahalo Nui Loa” ~ Hawaiian for “thank you very much.
Whether you are travelling to Maui with family, escaping on a couples getaway or honeymooning after your big day, Maui Ocean Center is just the place to connect you with Hawaii’s unique marine life. You’ll leave feeling inspired by nature’s beauty.
Perhaps, Maui Ocean Center is just the aquarium for you!
Read about our other Hawaiian adventures:
Maui
- Volunteering at O’o Organic Farm
- Stargazing at Haleakala National Park
- Best Snorkeling in Maui ~ Molokini & Turtle Arches Snorkel Cruise with Pacific Whale Foundation
- The Best Luau in Maui ~ The ‘Aha’aina Wailea Luau, at Grand Wailea Resort
- Maui Humane Society, Beach Buddies Program ~ Volunteer on Vacation
Big Island
- One Aloha Shave Ice (organic)
- Hilo Tropical Waterfall Tour with Hawaii Forest and Trail
- Kona House Condo
- Giving Back on Vacation: Hawai’i Wildlife Center Meet the Artist; Mattie Mae Larson of Upcycle Hawaii (Big Island, plastic pollution, marine debris, unique wearable art.)
- Upcycle Hawaii ~ A Peek Inside their Studio
- A Visit with Upcycle Hawaii to One of the Most Plastic Polluted Beaches in the World
Homeschool resources:
- Teacher Resources from Maui Ocean Center
- “Baby Honu’s Incredible Journey” by Tammy Yee (Hawaiian author)
- “Honu” by Marion Coste
- Go Fish! Hawai’i – My family LOVES this game! Fun trying to pronounce names of fish.
- Life Cycle of a Sea Turtle by Safariolgy (Great water toy.)
- Adopt a Marine Animal program through Pacific Whale Foundation
- Hawaiian Humu plush fish Hawaii’s State Fish
24 Comments
CRYSTAL MCCANN
I love this! Aquariums are sort of my family’s thing. The behind the scenes tour looks amazing. I’ll make a point to take my grandson here when we are in Hawaii. Thanks for sharing!
Charlene
Crystal…we LOVE aquariums too! Maui Ocean Center is my family’s personal favorite. Hope you get to go to Maui soon with your grandson, we miss the island terribly. We recently visited the Shedd in Chicago, gorgeous building and creatures. Planning on an upcoming post on that aquarium too. Aloha!
Nikki
This looks amazing! I have a trip to Maui planned in February, I’ll have to check it out!
Charlene
Nikki, is this your first trip to Maui? The aquarium is too much fun and the baby turtles are unbearably cute! If you are looking for a sunset/star gazing adventure atop Haleakala, check out our post on Maui Astronomy Tours. Hope you have a fantastic time!
Harmony, Momma To Go
we love our trip to Maui Ocean center – and we did this the first day of a three week stay in Hawaii, it was a great introduction to Hawaii and the sea turtles! Highly recommended!
Charlene
Awesome, so happy to hear it made your day too! Agreed, this is a perfect way to start a vacation in Maui. This was first on our list also when we visited! Sea turtles are a family favorite here!
Meredith at Chasing Abandon
Great post! I visited Maui Ocean Center years ago, but had forgotten about it. Your pictures were a good reminder! Love that you mention Hawaii Wildlife Foundation. I worked as their beach clean up coordinator on the Big Island back before kids. We’ve suddenly found ourselves living in the Pacific again, and my kids love sea turtles! Such a treat to run across one while snorkeling.
Charlene
Mahalo Meredith…We LOVE sea turtles here too! Very special to see one while snorkeling for sure. You are so lucky to have lived in Hawaii. We are visiting the Big Island for the first time in two weeks. We LOVE Hawaii Wildlife Fund and I’ve been in contact with their clean-up coordinator about a possible clean-up at Kamilo Point (“Plastic Beach”) during our vacation. We want to give back to the island and are also hoping to spread the word on plastic pollution. I understand Kamilo Point is difficult to get to so I’m hoping it all works out. Thank you for all of your hard work to help clean our oceans!
Amanda
We had this aquarium on our list in case there was a rainy day last month when we were in Maui… but it was just too beautiful and we didn’t have enough time to squeeze it in! Next time because it looks amazing!!
Charlene
I totally understand… there is never seems to be enough time to enjoy all of Maui when visiting. Sounds like we both need to go back! Maui Ocean Center is adorable and we highly recommend the behind-the-scenes tour. Happy travels! Aloha!
Karen
What a fantastic aquarium, that turtle experience sounds like a dream!
Charlene
The aquarium was stunning and the baby sea turtles were too much cuteness to handle!
Gina
This place looks amazing!! I will add it to my list of places to visit when we go!
Charlene
We loved Maui Ocean Center! Hope you get to visit them soon.
Jamie
We’ve been to a few Hawaiian islands and Maui is next on our list! This looks like such a cool place to explore, my kids would love it! Pinning it for later!
Charlene
We love Hawaii and Maui is my family’s favorite of all. You are sure to have a great time when you visit. Enjoy and Aloha!
Liona
I love a good aquarium and this looks amazing. You got to do some really cool stuff!
Charlene
We are huge fans of marine life and couldn’t resist the behind-the-scenes tour at Maui Ocean Center! The baby sea turtles were too cute for words. We were very blessed to be able to spend some time exploring Maui and this lovely aquarium.
Nina Out and About
As a kid, I would have killed to feed baby turtles!! This looks like so much fun.
Charlene
Feeding the sea turtles was a blast, so glad they included it in the behind-the-scenes tour!
Rhonda Albom
I have long been fascinated by sea turtles and have, without success, attempted to see them in the wild during nesting season. The Maui Ocean Aquarium seems to be a sure-fire way to see this and see the turtles at various stages of their life cycle. I want to go here.
Charlene
Maui Ocean Center is outstanding. I would love to see nesting sea turtles also and I hope your dreams of seeing them come true! Hooray for sea turtles!
Lerato
Wow! this seems like a fun activity. Would definitely take my little ones hers
Charlene
The Maui Ocean Center is a great place for kids to see ocean life. Very child-friendly exhibits, that kids can see in to well.