By Mark Siquig
Located in San Pedro, the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium (CMA) presents hundreds of marine species with indoor and outdoor exhibits and is open to the public free of charge.
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Operated by the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, the aquarium has three main buildings that visitors can walk through.
The Susanne Lawrenz-Miller Exhibit Hall displays different environments including open ocean ecosystems, rocky shores and sand and mud. The exhibit is very interactive and includes a tide pool tank where visitors can touch the organisms.
The CMA Exploration Center allows visitors to use all of their five senses and scientific tools to learn and explore the habitats of Cabrillo Coastal Park.
The center has information on coastal habitats using maps and photos. It also provides a hands-on look at the Los Angeles watershed flow into marshes and the ocean and a crawl-in aquarium that visitors can walk through to be surrounded by ocean life like rays, octopuses and other creatures.
The Mud Walkthrough is also a great way for visitors to get a “worm’s eye view of the mud,” simulating an interaction between organisms found in mud.
The Aquatic Nursery is a working laboratory that visitors can observe. There, scientists undergoing training conduct active scientific research under the supervision of CMA’s professional staff.
The nursery exhibit is used to focus on growing and caring for young animals. It showcases open research benches displaying more than 40 marine species.
The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is open Tuesday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium website.
