Biomes Marine Biology Center

★jeannine jacaruso

We visited Biomes today with our kids and left feeling conflicted. The facility felt more like a quirky roadside attraction built around close animal encounters than a thoughtfully designed conservation-focused aquarium experience. Several exhibits raised ethical concerns for us, particularly some of the enclosures for larger animals like the moray eel and remoras, which felt quite small and sparse relative to the animals’ size and natural behaviors. While the tanks themselves were not overcrowded, some of the habitats did not seem like especially ideal long-term living environments for the aquatic life. The dogfish touch pool in particular also appeared murky and not especially clean during our visit, which added to our concerns about the overall environment. To be fair, we understand that some animals may be rescues or temporarily housed for rehabilitation, and we appreciate that small aquariums can still play a role in education and exposing kids to marine life. We also did not observe animals in obvious acute distress. There were positives as well — the staff was kind, our kids enjoyed parts of the experience, and some of the interactive exhibits were engaging for children. But overall, the experience felt more focused on novelty and close-up interaction than on creating naturalistic, enriching habitats for the animals themselves. We left wishing there were more transparency around rescue status, long-term care, and animal welfare standards, along with greater emphasis on habitat quality and conservation. Worth stopping at if you’re nearby with kids and looking for something unusual to do on a rainy day

★★★★★Emily Decoste

Just wanted to say how our visit went… we got there right when they opened it was nice not so many people…. But being greated they told us everything we needed to to know about our visit, there was a coat rack to hang out jackets up so we didn’t have to lug them around! We got to do lots of feedings my son’s favorite was the turtle eatting! I Hurd the staff was a little short… but with the few staff on they made our visit great!! But the real reason I’m even making this review was Noah he was spot on with everything he did there!! The first thing we asked when we got there was to hold the snake because the reason we came that day was because my son had a field trip prior and was unable to go because he was sick and all of his classmates got to hold the snake and he wanted to do the same so bad !! And Noah made this happen!!! He was so nervous and Noah made him feel clam and he held buddy for the first time ever!!! Thank you for everything you did for my son Saturday he said he had the best day ever!! Can’t wait to come back in the near future!!!

★★★★★S'andra G

Gift certificates make great gifts. Fun trip w kids and grandparents spending time together while learning and exploring by touch, multiple hands on experiences sea life and shells, stingrays, etc. Friendly knowledgeable staff.

★★★★★Steve Thompson

Fantastic local aquarium with live exhibits including Darwin the 26 year old Galapagos Land Tortoise. Great place for family and young kids. Super for field trips. Love what they do here and the education provided! So fun and exciting learning and seeing all the local wildlife. Most of the exhibits come from the bay and Rhode Island. Love the octopus also the seahorses! Touch tanks are really cool. Staff is super friendly and the owner is very involved. Lots of parking too. If you are lucky you’ll get to see Darwin roaming the center on one of his strolls. This stop is great on the ebike tour from Warwick to Narragansett. Staff and the owner are so friendly and walk around answering questions and providing education. Feedings times throughout the day are posted so you can watch them feed. Open daily. Plan on a few hours to take it all in. Enjoy and thank you to the Biomes team!

★★★★★Hyunseok Chang

A great little aquarium for kids! Lots of touch tanks to keep them engaged, and the staff were super knowledgeable and friendly. During the feeding sessions they didn’t just explain the animals. They shared fun stories and really made you feel connected, like describing how clever the octopus is or how she has her own personality. The highlight was definitely the big tortoise roaming freely around the venue, such a fun surprise! We stayed for about two hours and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.