Ocean Sciences Centre Marine Public Education Program
Ocean Sciences Centre Marine Public Education Program
Ocean Sciences Centre Marine Public Education Program
4.5
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Touch Tank/Seal Tours- All Ages! Come dip your hands into our salt water touch tank. Explore the underwater world of Newfoundland’s local sea creatures’ hands on! Also be sure to visit our resident harp seals Tyler and Deane! Open June 1st-Sept 5th. 10am-5pm daily, rain or shine 7 days a week. Free Admission! (Donations Accepted)
Duration: < 1 hour
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 waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
50 reviews
Excellent
34
Very good
9
Average
5
Poor
1
Terrible
1
SLH
St. John's, Canada306 contributions
Jul 2022
Cute and FREE! Staff were super friendly and knowledgeable. Answered all our questions politely as we don't know a lot about "sea life". Touched some interesting creatures and viewed a blue lobster! Also caught a feeding of the seals. Entertaining for families and FREE! They do accept donations which I am sure is much appreciated. Easy way to spend an hour or so.
Written July 25, 2022
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.
Thanks for your review of a summer education program. We hope you come again soon!
Written July 27, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
DarB-Ottawa
Ottawa, Canada97 contributions
Jun 2019 • Couples
We are a group of 4 adults who went to the Ocean Sciences Centre on a lovely June Day. As mentioned by others, there are no facilities or shows. However, the touch tank was great! And the seals are interesting to see. The student who was “showing us around” the touch tanks - and the non-touch tanks - told us about everything in the tanks and was very patient and pleasant. I cannot remember all of the things that we saw - and petted - but it was a great experience: different types of starfish, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, crabs, sea peach, and so many more. The non-touch tanks with a blue lobster, anemones and lumpfish, among others were also very interesting. The second student that we met and who told us about the seals was also very pleasant, patient and helpful, staying with us and answering all of our questions. We are very happy that we decided to go. As another review mentioned, 45 to 60 minutes is probably a good amount to time to spend. Definitely recommended.
Written June 27, 2019
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.
Thank you so much for your wonderful review of our free summer education program and also for your kind review of our summer staff. Hope to see you again soon!
Written July 17, 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jordan W
Halifax, Canada10 contributions
Jul 2017 • Family
Great for all ages! Thoroughly enjoyed my visit here. Very knowledgable staff, all pursuing biology degrees and happy to answer any and all questions you have. There are several aspects to see, though there are no tours inside the buildings as they are mainly research labs and offices. There is a large touch tank with 25+ different kinds of marine life, and four fish tanks with everything ranging from the elusive eel/ocean pout, to lumpfish, and even a BLUE lobster. After learning all about these cool animals and plants we visited the SEALS! They're so cool. All the staff is happy to answer questions and very knowledgable about the seals. Program runs 10-5 every day until labour day, with the seals being open 24/7!
Written July 15, 2017
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.
Thanks for your great review of our program and staff.
Written July 18, 2017
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Bucko007
Sudbury, Canada1,037 contributions
Jul 2022 • Couples
Beautiful area but I assume since Covid, access to much of the grounds are off limits. The have a cute touch tank for the kids and access to see the 2 seals but nothing more. The drive along the coast is beautiful however.
Written July 16, 2022
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.
Thanks for your feedback of our small, complementary outdoor summer program. The summer program consists of the touch tank, display tanks and seal visitor platform. Access to the grounds was limited at time of visit due to on-going construction and therefore safely concerns. There are no in-door tours of our facilities as they are for research purposes and part of the University.
Written July 27, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
LornaDooner
St. John's, Canada31 contributions
Aug 2019
The ocean science centre is a jewel in the crown of Memorial University! They have a public educational program, touch tank, seal tank - plus the location is gorgeous and the people are amazing. Go see it!
Written August 29, 2019
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.
Thanks for you very kind review of our summer education program and staff. Hope you visit us again soon!
Written August 30, 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Keshia Noseworthy
1 contribution
Jun 2019 • Friends
I always like to bring my family and friends to visit during the summer! The touch tank is super fun, especially if you aren't familiar with local marine life, and the resident harp seals are adorable. The students working are always knowledgable and ready to answer your questions!
Written June 3, 2019
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.
Thanks for the wonderful review of our location! Hope you are able to visit again soon.
Written June 4, 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
yrd79
St. John's, Canada4 contributions
Aug 2018 • Family
I brought my girls (age 2 and 4) here a few days ago and they loved the touch tank. They're allowed to hold the sea stars, crabs and everything else. It's in a beautiful spot right on the ocean, with access to the East Coast Trail.
Written August 4, 2018
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.
Thank-you for your great review of our free Public Education Program. Hope you visit again soon!
Written August 6, 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
wilkinssjenn
St. John's, Canada5 contributions
May 2018 • Friends
Great place with cute seals. Can't wait to see the touch tank when it's open! New viewing deck and touch tank look awesome
Written May 29, 2018
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.
Thanks for your great review! We are now open 10am to 5pm daily (7 days a week, rain or shine). Make sure to drop back for a visit.
Written June 6, 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Mary A. K
14 contributions
Sept 2017 • Family
The Ocean Sciences center is mainly a research facility. They do have limited school and public displays, but only in season (summer time). Be sure to check their site before planning a trip!
BUT you can visit the seals 24/7/365. It's about a 30 minute drive outside of St. John's to get pretty close up to the harp seals. You can park in the staff lot (even though it says permit only...) and walk down the path to the main research facility overlooking the water. You'll see signs directing you up the stairs to the seals. They live outside in tanks and if you're lucky, you'll be there when a staff member is feeding them.
We went on a rainy day and the seals were in fine form and loving the weather!
BUT you can visit the seals 24/7/365. It's about a 30 minute drive outside of St. John's to get pretty close up to the harp seals. You can park in the staff lot (even though it says permit only...) and walk down the path to the main research facility overlooking the water. You'll see signs directing you up the stairs to the seals. They live outside in tanks and if you're lucky, you'll be there when a staff member is feeding them.
We went on a rainy day and the seals were in fine form and loving the weather!
Written September 24, 2017
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.
So glad you enjoying vising our site. Thanks for the wonderful review and hopefully we will see you again. Yes, the site does not allow for us to enter our seasonal operation hours. Hopefully this is something I can fix or work around.
Written April 11, 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Marije B
St. John's, Canada2 contributions
Jul 2016 • Friends
A great place to go see the seals, or to get an up close encounter with sea creatures in the touch tank! And enthusiastic biology students are there to teach you all about them.
Written April 11, 2017
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.
Thanks for the great feedback!
Written April 12, 2017
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Are there any washrooms available to the public? We are looking at taking 15-20 children to the Ocean Sciences Centre. We will be coming from an hour away and children will be sure to want to use the washroom once we get there.
Written August 16, 2019
Yes, there is a wheelchair accessible public washroom. Just ask the interpreters the location. Enjoy your trip!
Written August 17, 2019
Our invertebrate touch tank and fish view tanks are wheeler chair accessible, however, our seal visitors platform in not wheelchair accessible BUT we can make arrangements for those in wheelchairs to view the seals from a different location. Please contact Danielle at 864-2459 to make arrangements if you plan to visit.
Written July 25, 2018
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