Alabama Aquarium at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab — Attraction in Dauphin Island

What a cute place. They had several tanks and all with easy and quick to read information about the inhabitants. There was relative to Alabama geography information as well. It was easy to stay spaced out for Covid. A few kids forgot but parents wrangled that in. We absolutely loved the sting Ray tank. And without a doubt it is the best Sting Ray tank I have ever been to. I liked it even better than the one at the Atlanta aquarium! There is a window on the back of the tank in the side wall that is a viewing window. You need to be able to squat down to watch them. You could step back enough to watch but we loved getting close. We were able to get good video and pictures of them from so many angles. They even came up on the edges out of the water. They were really curious about us, probably thought we might feed them. But I didn’t know before how cute they are. The facilities are clean and have clean restrooms. There is a cute little gift shop at the end. The board walk outside was nice to venture out on after the museum. It was a great place for photos too. We really enjoyed our time there. I think we were there almost two hours and then we went to lunch over at The Lighthouse Bakery. Although, if it had not been so very windy and cold when we visited there was a cute little place next door that served ice cream. For Covid I think you need to purchase tickets online before you go. I can’t remember what we paid but it was...

Admission was reasonable, and if you stop at the Gulf Shores Welcome Center they'll give you a coupon for 2$ off adult admission. The building is small for an aquarium, but there is a ton of information, and there are several employees or maybe volunteers stationed throughout who are happy to answer questions or provide information about the various exhibits. I recommend spending some time with the rays in the petting pool outside. There's also a hammerhead shark and some fish in the petting pool! If you take your time and just dip your fingers in the water, gently splash, and just hang out for a bit, the rays will get curious, and some of them will start interacting with you a bit. They'll swim sideways close to the wall of the pool, which allows one of their "wings" to come above the surface, and it's a great opportunity to pet them. Also try hanging out by the viewing window in the pool. They'll get curious eventually and come and trace your movements if you move your finger around on the glass. They seem to enjoy the interaction! Their barbs are clipped, so no concerns about that. The outdoor grounds are very cool as well! It's a great place to spend 3-4 hours, maybe longer if you take your time. The pizza was very good, not just a basic frozen pizza, the lady made it on site. The ice cream was great too! It's a little pricey though, so be prepared for that. I'm looking forward to...

While on vacation in Dauphin Island, the wife and I needed to get our twin boys out of the sun for the day and decided to go to the Aquarium on the island. We were so glad we did. What an awesome place to check out! For the foreseeable future of us it 40 dollars to get in and see all the awesome tanks and enclosures they have.

We always check out the local aquariums when we can, and this one did not disappoint. Though it is pretty small, the aquariums and enclosures were very cool and well done. We check out everything but the sting ray touch pond and were there for about 45 minutes to an hour.

The aquarium was pretty busy being one of the few inside attractions on the island, but we got to see everything without much jostling for position. The place was very clean and it seemed like they really cared for the animals they keep there. They also had a few exhibits with workers explaining various things found locally around the island and in the gulf like shells, fossils and such. They were all very nice and seemed very patient with the kids. Also, outside of the aquarium is a beautiful pathway and pier showing some of the best views on the island imo, as well as more info about the local animal life and ecosystem!

Overall, I would definitely recommend taking the time to check it out and support the work...