South Carolina Aquarium

Highlights / General details

The South Carolina Aquarium opened in May of 2000 on the historic Charleston Harbor. There are over 60 exhibits located throughout the Aquarium that focus on five major regions of the Appalachian Watershed: the Mountains, the Piedmont, the Coastal Plain, the Coast and the Ocean. Our changing exhibit space currently features Camp Carolina, an interactive, immersion exhibit preparing and exciting visitors for exploring the outdoors of the upstate region of South Carolina. The Great Ocean Tank is the largest exhibit in the Aquarium. It extends from the first to the third floor of the Aquarium, holds over 385,000 gallons of water and contains over 450 animals. The South Carolina Aquarium has a new Touch Tank where you can touch horseshoe crabs, stingrays and many other marine animals. The South Carolina Aquarium is home to over 6,000 plants and animals including river otters, rattlesnakes, loggerhead sea turtles, alligators, Venus flytraps, great blue herons, owls, sea horses, jellyfish, puffer fish, moray eels, horseshoe crabs, sea stars, sharks and many more.

Hours of operation

March - August: 9 am - 5 pm (Building closes at 6 pm). September - February: 9 am - 4 pm (Building closes at 5 pm). Holiday hours: Thanksgiving Day, December 24th, doors close at 1 p.m., last ticket sold at noon. December 25th, closed. December 31st – January 1st, Aquarium will be open and operating at normal business hours.

All information requested must be supplied or booking is subject to automatic cancellation