Center for Aquatic Sciences

★★★★★Emily Walker

I took my girl scout troop to the overnight experience hosted by the Center for Aquatic Sciences and the experience surpassed all expectations! The girls were between 6 and 12 and everyone loved it. The ability to go backstage and doing all the touch tanks with minimal crowds were amazing. The scuba talk captivated even our most rambunctious of girls. The event was well organized and the communication with the event coordinator is fantastic. We knew exactly what to expect while we were there. It was very clear that normal aquarium operations would not be operating (the theater, the gift store, etc.) This event is put on by the scientists and caretakers of the animals, not the normal aquarium staff. We had such a great time, my daughter and I are going back ourselves!

★Christina Johnson

Copying this from the review I left for the aquarium itself since they commented and seemed to pass the buck and put the blame fully on to you guys for our terrible experience with them: I’m not sure what has happened in the last two years but whatever changed did not change for the better. We came here with our Girl Scouts troop for an overnight sleepover that was $80+ per person. Our troop spent $4000 to be able to do this. Our girls worked so hard for that money. Activities were supposed to begin at 7pm Saturday night but check in took so much time that most of us couldn’t even start our activities until almost 8pm. You only had until 945pm to do exhibits and then you were given your assignments to be in your area and ready for lights out at 1030-11pm. We then had to wake up in the morning for our “continental breakfast” between 7-8am and the line was so long (multiple troops were here) that we didn’t get done until right at 8. We then went to see hippos that we were told would be out at 8am but they didn’t come out until 815am (which is fine, animals of course aren’t always on schedule) so when we left the hippos to go immediately to the shark walk that was supposed to be included in our package, we were told at 820am that we couldn’t do the shark walk because we all needed to be out by 830am so we had some disappointed kids. I understand that the employees were just doing their job but they could have treated our girls (ranging from 5 years old to teens) with a little more grace and respect than they did. They were extremely rude and condescending. Two years ago we were able to leave the aquarium at 830am to put stuff in cars and then come back in to the aquarium for free to be able to go to the gift shop (which was also supposed to be included in our packages but was closed all Saturday evening and didn’t open Sunday morning while we were there either) but today we were told that was no longer included in the packages and that we would have to pay to re-enter the aquarium if we wanted to go to the gift shop. Our girls again saved their own money and brought it with them to spend at the gift shop and were denied that as well. I understand that rules are rules but things should have been communicated better and from a business standpoint they lost out on $100s of dollars of revenue that we probably would have spent at the gift shop alone. Instead of doing the right thing, the best customer service thing, they instead decided to stand their ground and berate us and our girls to get out. Again I understand that rules are rules but those rules should have been EXPLICITLY explained to the troops this year if they were going to be so drastically different for the same amount of money. There are some amazing staff members there that do work with the animals that were so kind and amazing so I don’t want them to think they’re all bad there because they weren’t. Again this is just our personal experience but I would highly suggest looking somewhere else for this kind of experience.

★★★★★Cheryl F. (Cfish)

I brought my high school Marine Bio students for a behind the scenes experience. Jennie from the Center was so knowledgeable and informative. She was able to answer every single question my students had. While we also toured the Aquarium, it is the walk beyond the sparkle and colors of the Aquarium that they loved the most. we were able to see (and smell) meals being prepped for the animals, walk through the quarantine area, see a baby sea horse nursery, and peer the top of the Ocean Realm tank. A view they could not access within the regular aquarium. 5 stars! Keep up the great work. I will certainly be booking again for years to come. Thank you for helping make memories and inspire my future Marine Biologists.

★★★★★Tish Penney

I have attended many events sponsored by the Center, the most recent was a winter walk on Petty's Island. Admittedly, I've taken this walk during the summer, too. The staff are very knowledgeable about the history of the island and it was cool to see the wooded area without all the underbrush. I have also attended the Delaware River Festival, which takes place in the early fall. My grandchildren become so engrossed in all the activities and learn so much on both sides of the river that day. And we even get a ride on the ferry to the Philadelphia side as part of the fun! My grandchildren were also able to fish in the Delaware.

★★★Joshua DeLeon

Very cool concept for teaching kids — major props for creativity! That said, when you’re presenting to a crowd of tiny humans (ages 1–5) at a library event, maybe dial down the lecture and dial up the wiggles and giggles. A few tweaks to match their snack-sized attention spans would go a long way. Still love the idea though!