Baja Bay is the centerpiece of the Pacific Seas Aquarium – a 280,000-gallon warm-water habitat, home to green sea turtles, nurse sharks, and spotted eagle rays, plus dozens of other tropical fish species that you’d find in the Gulf of California.

Northwest Waters is a 100,000-gallon habitat full of stunning Northwest marine life from pink waving anemones to 30-year-old rockfish, sturgeon, lingcod – all behind a massive 25-foot-wide, 10-foot-tall window. See what’s right on our doorstep in the cold waters of Puget Sound.

A hands-on, up-close marine animal experience touching the same tidal creatures you’d find at low tide in Puget Sound. Feel the rough texture of sea stars, the spikiness of sea urchins, and the hardness of crab shells…

It’s all backed by a giant wall map of the Sound itself and a stunning watercolor mural by Tacoma artist Maria Jost – and comes with a handy bench for parents.

Giant strands of kelp wave in the water, echoing in replica the kelp forests of Southern California, with California sheepshead fish and other species swimming through them.

In a globe spilling endlessly with water, moon jellyfish swirl and float, mesmerizing and vibrant. It’s one of only two jelly globes in the entire country, surrounded by several other jelly exhibits.

A peek into the magical world of sea life under the Narrows Bridges: wolf eels hiding under girders, anemones waving with the tides, sea stars clambering over rocks.

The Tacoma Narrows Bridges soar over rich underwater marine life – and the sunken remains of the first bridge, “Galloping Gertie.” Come peer into those mysteries…

At first glance, sea pens look more like underwater plants than animals, but they are actually soft corals made up of many tiny animals working together as one. Anchored in the seafloor, sea pens gently sway with the current, creating a striking and peaceful sight. Sea pens feed by filtering plankton and other small particles from the water using their delicate, feather-like structures, which helps keep the surrounding waters healthy.

Squat down to fish-eye-level and you’ll be instantly shrunk to fish size, as the thick exhibit walls magnify the scene and surround you.

What wonders await just below the water’s surface? Discover Puget Sound king crab scuttling around red urchins and gumboot chiton, with tubesnouts and three-spined sticklebacks swimming around the habitat together.

The Puget Sound is filled with a rainbow of colors, inspiring this vibrant habitat. Find strawberry anemone covering the rocky walls, with sidestriped shrimp, vermillion sea stars, sea cucumbers, and sea lemon nudibranch moving around the habitat.