From Puget Sound to the tropics, we share one ocean. Today, threats to those waters—from human activities like overfishing, plastic pollution and fossil fuel consumption—continue to cause marine life to vanish at astonishing rates. And damage the ocean’s ability to sustain life on Earth. The good news? Together, we can regenerate the ocean’s health so that it can sustain life today and beyond.
re·gen·er·ate (verb)
To restore what has been lost or damaged so that all living things can thrive
Our actions—whether regenerative or damaging—are felt across Earth’s connected waters. Even parts of the ocean we might never otherwise see. The ocean’s story is a global story that includes all of us. We're committed to telling that story.
A gateway connecting you to our ocean
As the first of several planned steps in transforming our campus, our Ocean Pavilion—scheduled to open in 2024—will enable people of all abilities and backgrounds to discover new corners of our one-world ocean.
When you visit, you’ll witness the exquisite biodiversity of a reef ecosystem in the Coral Triangle, a region far from our local waters but facing strikingly similar problems. You’ll come face-to-face with sharks, rays, schooling fish, mangroves, seagrasses and nearly 30 species of coral. These exceptional plants and animals will draw you into their world to deliver a profound message: by working to regenerate their homes, we’ll save our own.
As a complement to in-person connections, you’ll be able to explore the depths and wonder of our ocean virtually through state-of-the-art immersive digital storytelling. Throughout the Ocean Pavilion, you’ll come to understand how our fate and the ocean’s are bound together.
3,500 amazing animals and plants enable you to experience Coral Triangle ecosystems
Titan triggerfish
Spotted eagle ray
Mangrove habitat
Indo-Pacific leopard shark
Flamboyant cuttlefish
New space to care for new residents
The Aquarium’s new, offsite Animal Care Center—led by a passionate, expert team—is the hub for our animal care and rehabilitation efforts. For animals who’ll live in the Ocean Pavilion, the Animal Care Center serves as their first stop to gently acclimate to their new environment. Here, we’ll get to know these creatures as individuals and make sure they’re ready to thrive in their new Ocean Pavilion habitats.
Designed to benefit people and planet
The Ocean Pavilion—adjacent and just to the east of the current Seattle Aquarium—will create new public space and increase accessibility between Pike Place Market and the waterfront by connecting to Seattle’s new Overlook Walk.
The Ocean Pavilion’s public plaza will provide a view into its largest habitat, so anyone who passes through the park can witness a reef ecosystem without purchasing a ticket. In the public plaza, you’ll encounter Aquarium staff and volunteers sharing knowledge. And you’ll discover public art created by and honoring the Coast Salish people on whose traditional and contemporary territories the Aquarium resides. We’ll continue to partner with more than 400 non-profit organizations to extend access to the Aquarium for the communities they serve.
We’re working toward next-generation global sustainability standards—known as Living Building Petal certification—for the Ocean Pavilion’s climate impact and water use. Our goal is to become the first building owned by the City of Seattle, and the first of many aquariums, to earn this certification.
Our expanded facilities will give us the resources to help restore more endangered marine species at home and across the ocean.
Excited about the Ocean Pavilion? Others are, too.
- KIRO 7: “An inside look at Seattle Aquarium’s expansion plans”
- Seattle Times: “Seattle Aquarium’s expansion will transform its focus and the waterfront”
- Puget Sound Business Journal: “An icon in the making”