SEA LIFE at Mall of America
SEA LIFE at Mall of America
4
10:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Sunday
11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
About
Discover thousands of sea creatures in SEA LIFE Aquarium at Mall of America and touch real sea creatures! Explore the world famous 300-foot long tunnel exhibit where guests come nose-to-nose with sea turtles, sharks, sawfish and more! Purchase the Behind-the-Scenes tour for a more in-depth look at how SEA LIFE cares for its thousands of creatures at the Aquarium. Conveniently located in the Mall of America the Aquarium is within walking distance to hotels, restaurants, stores and the light rail.
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
1,807 reviews
Excellent
793
Very good
595
Average
308
Poor
79
Terrible
32
Lorna B.
Bechtelsville, PA884 contributions
Aug 2023 • Couples
We (2 adults with no children along) stopped here during a road trip from our home in southeastern PA out to North Dakota. This is a pretty nice aquarium and is worth a stop at the mall just for it. The exhibits were attractive and engaging, with naturalistic features; there was even a shark tunnel with many large fish (not just sharks). This aquarium also contained two touch tanks, one with rays and the other with sea anemones. Purchasing timed-entry tickets at a kiosk just outside the aquarium entrance was easy; we did find the admission charge to be high. We enjoyed the hour we spent touring this attraction. The crowds visiting here the day we visited were light. Parking at the mall and then finding the aquarium from the East Ramp entrance was easy.
Written June 16, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
John M
Marion, IA47 contributions
Jul 2021
Kids (12, 8, and 5) loved this attraction! We spent about two hours going through the exhibits at our own pace. Started with a rainforest aquarium (which incidentally, immediately motivated the kids to go and eat at Rainforest Cafe) and then went through a wonderful under-water aquarium tunnel. Interactive items, including a kids ranger hunt, touching tank (starfish, etc), and stingray feeding pool were great. Overall, enjoyable experience and worth the money.
Written July 10, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kaopas
Minneapolis, MN90 contributions
Jan 2020 • Couples
The 2 different areas to buy tickets were a bit confusing, especially if you had a coupon. Once inside, it was very educational and the water aquarium was very beautiful and relaxing. The end was disappointing, when they had signs to feed the stingrays and an agent near the booth but, it not being available. Polite staff but they didnt go out of their way..
Written January 27, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dixie H
Saint Louis, MO134 contributions
Jul 2020 • Family
This is a very small aquarium even though it says it is the largest in Minnesota. We went through it in about 30 minutes.
Buy your tickets online ahead of time. They were sold out all day. And, you will save money. We paid $22 a person online and it was $25 at the mall.
The aquarium has the typical fish and a couple walk through tunnels. They have a nice moon jellyfish exhibit. Most activities were not open but there was a nice touch pool at the end.
Many people were not wearing masks inside and were not doing a good social distancing.
Though it was nice unless you do not have access to an aquarium I would not waste my money here.
Buy your tickets online ahead of time. They were sold out all day. And, you will save money. We paid $22 a person online and it was $25 at the mall.
The aquarium has the typical fish and a couple walk through tunnels. They have a nice moon jellyfish exhibit. Most activities were not open but there was a nice touch pool at the end.
Many people were not wearing masks inside and were not doing a good social distancing.
Though it was nice unless you do not have access to an aquarium I would not waste my money here.
Written July 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cougboy65
Spanish Fork, UT19 contributions
Apr 2021 • Family
It wasn't a bad place just a little over priced for what you get. The walk through aquarium tunnel was probably the best part of the tour. Covid, I'm sure, caused some problems so maybe it isn't completely fair that I'm rating the place. There were the usual things to see, jelly fish, sting rays, and sharks but nothing too exciting. I'd say younger kids may enjoy it.
Written April 7, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LoveTravel268126
Minneapolis, MN40 contributions
Feb 2020
Lots of different sea life and marine life. Loved walking through the tunnel and seeing the sharks up close! Spent some time in ray lagoon feeding the rays. The rainforest was interesting.
Written February 27, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jon S
Superior, WI7 contributions
Oct 2019
We enjoy SEA LIFE so much, we buy yearly passes. First off, the entire facility is a piece of engineering genius. The views you get in the underwater tunnels are stunning. The pool of stingrays is a highlight (we could watch them all day). The staff has always been very cheerful and knowledgeable. If you have a chance to take the behind the scenes tour, it's very informative and will increase your appreciation of every aspect of the aquarium.
Written February 11, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Adventure19043
Boston, MA1 contribution
Sure there are lots of fish and cute posters from Finding Nemo, but the tanks are overcrowded and not well kept. My boyfriend and I love fish and have a tank ourselves. Whenever we are visiting a new place, we visit the aquariums. However, I was crying as I left this one.
The moving walkway below the large tanks were cool, but it was sad to see so many large sharks crammed into a relatively tiny tank. At the New England Aquarium in Boston, a larger tank than what was seen at Underwater Adventures contains only half the number of sharks.
There was a tank of 15 lionfish, a new exhibit, that was so crowded none of the fish could swim two inches without running into each other. One was gasping for air near the top and swimming sideways - clearly on his way to fish heaven. This was especially sad because lionfish are such strange, beautiful, and solitary creatures.
The saddest part was when we went to see the touch tank. Usually the touch tank at an aquarium is filled with invertibrates and maybe a few fish that are generally fast enough to swim away from anyone wanting to actually touch them. The animals are usually cycled frequently so the creatures aren't stressed. And mostly, ONE MUST WASH THEIR HANDS BEFORE PUTTING THEM IN THE TOUCH TANK. We watched dozens of children sticking grubby, dirty hands into a touch tank with small sharks and stingrays in it! After, there was no sink available for the children to wash hands again! Not only is this bad for the fish, but also for the children. What made me actually cry (and thus end our trip to the mall because I was in no mood to shop) was that one of the sharks appeared to have one of its pectoral fins ripped off very recently. It was still bleeding and it was not just a little nick, but a good chunk just ripped off. And nobody was paying it any attention! It was like a pink elephant in the middle of the room that somehow elluded anyone's attention.
The owners of this aquarium need to reevaluate their purpose: are they commited to educating visitors about marine life and their care/conservation or are they simply to exploiting poor living creatures to make a quick buck?
The moving walkway below the large tanks were cool, but it was sad to see so many large sharks crammed into a relatively tiny tank. At the New England Aquarium in Boston, a larger tank than what was seen at Underwater Adventures contains only half the number of sharks.
There was a tank of 15 lionfish, a new exhibit, that was so crowded none of the fish could swim two inches without running into each other. One was gasping for air near the top and swimming sideways - clearly on his way to fish heaven. This was especially sad because lionfish are such strange, beautiful, and solitary creatures.
The saddest part was when we went to see the touch tank. Usually the touch tank at an aquarium is filled with invertibrates and maybe a few fish that are generally fast enough to swim away from anyone wanting to actually touch them. The animals are usually cycled frequently so the creatures aren't stressed. And mostly, ONE MUST WASH THEIR HANDS BEFORE PUTTING THEM IN THE TOUCH TANK. We watched dozens of children sticking grubby, dirty hands into a touch tank with small sharks and stingrays in it! After, there was no sink available for the children to wash hands again! Not only is this bad for the fish, but also for the children. What made me actually cry (and thus end our trip to the mall because I was in no mood to shop) was that one of the sharks appeared to have one of its pectoral fins ripped off very recently. It was still bleeding and it was not just a little nick, but a good chunk just ripped off. And nobody was paying it any attention! It was like a pink elephant in the middle of the room that somehow elluded anyone's attention.
The owners of this aquarium need to reevaluate their purpose: are they commited to educating visitors about marine life and their care/conservation or are they simply to exploiting poor living creatures to make a quick buck?
Written September 16, 2005
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Off-2-seeTheWizard
North Carolina139 contributions
A quick review of Underwater Adventures:
Not very big and $$$ pricey $$$ considering that it's not a large attraction. My family (wife and 5 kids) enjoyed this attraction, but we all felt a little jipped when we realized it was over.
Had I known then what I known now - I would probably do it again, but looked for coupons/discounts.
Not very big and $$$ pricey $$$ considering that it's not a large attraction. My family (wife and 5 kids) enjoyed this attraction, but we all felt a little jipped when we realized it was over.
Had I known then what I known now - I would probably do it again, but looked for coupons/discounts.
Written January 21, 2010
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CO911dispatcher
Rocky Mtns, Colorado70 contributions
After reading negative reviews, we were cautious to try out Underwater Adventures. However, I'm glad we went for it! Two adults and a 5 year old boy with the discount coupons we got right at the entrance cost under $50.
There are several different areas to explore:
- a Minnesota woods environment with a sloping wandering "wooded" path with stuffed mammals and live aquatic animals. The stuffed animals are somewhat "moth eaten" and dusty looking.
- a hands on shallow pool where everyone can touch small sharks and sting rays. The kids get a "I touched a shark!" sticker.
- a showcase room that had displays of glass sharks for each of the 50 states
- a collection of aquatic memorabilia from movies like the Titanic and James Bond movies
- And the biggie: The underwater tube/tunnel where you are surrounded by the fish and other sea creatures. We were VERY impressed with their collection of animals. They all looked healthy (although I'm certainly no expert) and had plenty of room to swim around. It was so cool to stand there as a SHARK swam right over your head! There is a very slow moving walkway and you can step off at any time to stare. There are informative displays and information posted. The water as well as the "people areas" were clean and had no unpleasant smells.
The staff are helpful and friendly and present enough without being obstrusive. They kindly answered our questions and appeared to know their stuff about the animals.
We went in the early afternoon and then went back again at 9pm. Your bracelet gets you in all day. If you return by 9pm, you may stay until 11pm. When we were there the first time, there were plenty of people there although it didn't feel crowded. And we thought we saw lots of fish and sharks. But when we went back at night, they had the lights down low and there were literally two other couples there and our family of 3! We had it to ourselves. There was TONS more activity in the tanks, too. The fish were more active and the sharks were moving around a lot more. We were glad to go back for a second look. We certainly got our money's worth by going back.
This was a great deal and something a 5 year old boy doesn't see very day. He was impressed but so were we adults. I would recommend a late evening visit to get the most of this great place.
There are several different areas to explore:
- a Minnesota woods environment with a sloping wandering "wooded" path with stuffed mammals and live aquatic animals. The stuffed animals are somewhat "moth eaten" and dusty looking.
- a hands on shallow pool where everyone can touch small sharks and sting rays. The kids get a "I touched a shark!" sticker.
- a showcase room that had displays of glass sharks for each of the 50 states
- a collection of aquatic memorabilia from movies like the Titanic and James Bond movies
- And the biggie: The underwater tube/tunnel where you are surrounded by the fish and other sea creatures. We were VERY impressed with their collection of animals. They all looked healthy (although I'm certainly no expert) and had plenty of room to swim around. It was so cool to stand there as a SHARK swam right over your head! There is a very slow moving walkway and you can step off at any time to stare. There are informative displays and information posted. The water as well as the "people areas" were clean and had no unpleasant smells.
The staff are helpful and friendly and present enough without being obstrusive. They kindly answered our questions and appeared to know their stuff about the animals.
We went in the early afternoon and then went back again at 9pm. Your bracelet gets you in all day. If you return by 9pm, you may stay until 11pm. When we were there the first time, there were plenty of people there although it didn't feel crowded. And we thought we saw lots of fish and sharks. But when we went back at night, they had the lights down low and there were literally two other couples there and our family of 3! We had it to ourselves. There was TONS more activity in the tanks, too. The fish were more active and the sharks were moving around a lot more. We were glad to go back for a second look. We certainly got our money's worth by going back.
This was a great deal and something a 5 year old boy doesn't see very day. He was impressed but so were we adults. I would recommend a late evening visit to get the most of this great place.
Written September 27, 2008
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hey I have express entry tickets we won. Do we need to call & reserve a time slot with those?
Written May 11, 2019
No unfortunately the line still sucks but you get to get in the Express instead of the slower one to buy tickets
Written May 12, 2019
I see that it's suggested to not bring strollers in the exhibit. Is there a place to park strollers when you enter the Sea Life area?
Written January 25, 2019
We had no issues taking one but I think they say that so they can fish out a few not bringing one along.
Written April 1, 2019
We watched the sharks being fed and spent some time with the manta ray pool, watching them. It's not a huge place, but there is a lot to see. My kids are teens and we took our time so about an hour and a half. There aren't dolphins at this aquarium as stated above. They must be thinking of somewhere else. They do have a little octopus though, and he was cool!
Written July 10, 2017
Is the behind the scenes VIP tour and feeding sting ray with the xtra money? General admission would be about $45 for a family of 4 or I'm looking at $110ish for the vip package. Is it worth the $?
Written February 20, 2017
Honestly I believe it is. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and it was amazing to hear his experiences about the facility and animals. I am a wildlife major and truly felt as though even I learned quite a bit!
Written March 4, 2017
I read somewhere that after 4PM the ticket prices are less. Now I can't find anything about it. Is that everyday? Do you need a coupon or to do anything special besides showing up at 4 and what is the cost?
Written December 21, 2016
I know that Nickelodeon Universe does discounted tickets after 4 p.m., however I haven't heard of SeaLife MN doing the same thing. There are always coupons available in the mall for a few dollars off the admission price. Fairly easy to find. Usually on the big signs advertising the aquarium.
Written December 22, 2016
About how long does it take to get through the whole aquarium? I plan to bring my son in July while we're visiting and I am trying to figure out how long I should set aside for this. Thanks.
Written January 18, 2016
It depends on the time of the day you visit. This place tends to be pretty busy during the day and it takes longer to view it. I've had a chance to see it in the evening on a quiet week-day and it took less than an hour. It was not crowded and, therefore it was much nicer that way.
Written January 29, 2016
I have these tickets that say free aquarium ticket what does that mean I really need to know by today
Written May 13, 2015
Bryan S
Bloomington, Minnesota
Hi Taylor, I am assuming you visited the Aquarium when we were under construction which means the tickets you have are most likely a Free Comeback Ticket valid for the month of May.
If this is the case you are able to come back to the Aquarium at no cost to see the new exhibits.
Please feel free to reach out 952-883-0202 with any other questions.
Sincerely,
Bryan Sanborn
Head of Marketing and Sales
SEA LIFE Minnesota
Written May 13, 2015
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