Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration

Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration Review

The animals here go through 1,000 pounds of herring, capelin, and squid each day. Inuk, a male beluga whale, is responsible for consuming 85 pounds of that himself. He calls the aquarium's Arctic Coast exhibit home. This exhibit—which holds 800,000 gallons of water, measures 165 feet at its longest point by 85 feet at its widest point, and ranges from just inches to 16½ feet deep—is just a small part of this revered establishment. You can also check out world-renowned ocean explorer Dr. Robert Ballard's Institute for Exploration and its Challenge of the Deep exhibition center (dedicated to revealing what lies on the world's deep ocean floors), as well as see African penguins, harbor seals, graceful sea horses, Pacific octopuses, and sand tiger sharks.