A non-profit aquarium located on Cannery Row in Monterey, California. It was initiated in 1977 and opened in 1984. Permanent exhibits include the three-story Kelp Forest, the million-gallon Outer Bay Waters (containing tuna, sharks, ocean sunfish and sea turtles), Octopus and Kin, a two-story sea otter exhibit, and the largest jellyfish collection in the U.S.

One of their special exhibits is Mysteries of the Deep - the world's largest living exhibit of deep sea animals, e.g. mushroom corals, predatory tunicates, sea whips, spider crabs, filetail cat sharks, ratfish, feather stars, eelpouts, and others. They have retrieved the creatures from a two-mile deep underwater canyon. The aquarium has spent more than $5 million in the last decade for the project.

They are open every day except Christmas, and tickets are available for purchase online. I've never been there, but would love to see it. Mabe I'll go to a USENIX conference one year (they have a dinner in the aquarium).

Monterey Bay Aquarium
Monterey, CA 93940-1085
phone (831) 648-4800
fax (831) 644-4810