Seattle families can now visit the tropics without leaving the waterfront. The Seattle Aquarium’s Ocean Pavilion, a 50,000-square-foot expansion that opened on August 29, 2024, brings the dazzling Coral Triangle — the “Amazon of the ocean” — to Pier 59’s doorstep, with its roof forming part of the city’s new Overlook Walk.
The centerpiece is The Reef, a nearly 500,000-gallon, multi-story habitat watched through a sweeping floor-to-ceiling window. Leopard sharks, spotted eagle rays, a bowmouth guitarfish and hundreds of colorful schooling fish drift past as families view the scene from above, across and below. Even before you buy a ticket, look up: the pavilion’s oculus window gives passersby a free peek into the reef from the plaza.
More than 3,500 animals and plants fill the pavilion, from mangrove lagoons in The Archipelago to living corals. The story is a hopeful one — the aquarium helps lead ReShark, the global effort to restore endangered Indo-Pacific leopard sharks to their home waters.
Ocean Pavilion admission is included with a regular aquarium ticket, so pair the reef with the touch pools and sea otters of the historic piers for a full, happy day on Seattle’s waterfront.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
