My wife and I really enjoyed spending a day at the Birch Aquarium.

It's not the Georgia Aquarium, but that might be part of the appeal -- the exhibits are really manageable in scope and size, so you get a more personal feel, and maybe learn a bit more?

Lots of interesting exhibits, and when you want to take a break, there are great views of the ocean and La Jolla to be enjoyed.

If you're a saltwater aquarium owner & a member, you can get good saltwater for free from their system (they have a hose for you to fill your buckets) to keep your pets happy and healthy!

The Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institute of Oceanography was one of our favorite places to take our twin boys when they were 18 months to 3 years old. It is a pretty small place, and it would be hard to spend more than a couple of hours there, but the annual membership is only $40, and we have used ours dozens of times. One of the things that our boys really like to do is play in the river rapid tank. This is a tank of water that has current running through it, and it has fixtures where you can place obstacles to channel the water and increase the flow. Then you put a boat at the top of the tank and watch it make its way through the rapids. The boys are constantly amused by this. The other cool thing is the outdoor tidepool tank. You are allowed to touch the animals in the tank as long as you do it gently, and sometimes there is a docent who will pick one of the animals out of the tank and show it to the kids in more detail. For a family with small kids looking for an enriching experience, I would highly recommend the annual membership.

maybe i'm just a marine life snob...but i was kinda hoping to see some more exotic animals. i've seen the majority of their sea animals out on swims in our local ocean....the reef fish need a bigger tank, it reminds me of a pet store, because i know for a fact many pet stores in san diego sells the fish seen here. i like the amazing view of la jolla shores though...i think i wanna get married here.

oh and the shark tank was unimpressive. :\ if you want to see sharks, i recommend swimming around la jolla shores or go to the chula vista nature center. their shark tank looks just like the leopard sharks' natural habitat.

the jelly fish were AWESOME though. i wanna raise my own.

I've been to the Birch Aquarium a number of times being a San Diego resident. I'm also a Sea World member. Having said that, both places offer a display of slightly different sea creatures. I'm a bit more partial to Sea World and was rather disappointed the first time I visited the Birch Aquarium because of its size. In the back of my mind, I was comparing it to the Monterey Aquarium.

But if you are a San Diego resident or visitor, this is a pretty good aquarium to take your children or just go there if you have a real interest in the water world. The aquarium has breathtaking views of the ocean. The weather is pleasant during the summer months with the sea breeze and especially when it's scorching warm in inland San Diego.

The service staff are all very helpful and friendly. There is a children's area outside which is a real hit.

We went to the aquarium for the fist time a couple of days ago, and had a great time--my son absolutely loved it and threw a bit of a stinker when we had to leave (that's when I know he really likes a place). First off, the aquarium has coupons for a free child admission with an adult admission in may of the coupon fliers that come in the mail or the free family magazine that you can find at grocery stores (usually where the reader and other like publications are). The aquarium itself is beautiful, and has a great view of La Jolla from its back balcony. The tanks are really interesting, and we especially loved the jellyfishes! My son was stung by one at Torrey Pines and so it was exciting for him to see the very strange looking creature that stung him! There is a man-made tide pool in the back, although our local tide pools are so much more fun and exciting. I guess the plus would be that there are starfish that kids can actually touch. They also have a water feature where kids can create water flows by moving boards around and then releasing boats to see which direction and how fast they move. That was a huge hit with all the kids! Overall, the aquarium was an enriching experience for my son and I really enjoyed it too. I would definitely recommend it to friends.