Maui Aquarium Has Reefs, Sharks, Sea Turtles

Maui Ocean Center Teaches About Hawaii's Undersea World

May 9, 2009

The Maui Ocean Center shows visitors Hawaii's sea life, including sharks, rays, and sea turtles, as well as tiny creatures such as seahorses and sea snakes.

Maui's Ocean Center is located a short drive from Maui's primary airport in Kahului, just off Highway 30. It's only a few minutes from Wailea and Kihei, where many of Maui's most popular dive and snorkeling sites and dive trip companies are located. The Ocean Center is also on the way from the airport to the popular resorts on Maui's west coast.

Part aquarium and part marine park, the state-of-the-art, 20-million-dollar facility offers a complete education in the undersea world of Hawaii, and is dedicated to displaying and explaining Hawaii's marine environment.

Coral Reefs and Touch Pools at the Maui Ocean Center

Start at the coral reef display, the largest exhibit of corals in the United States. The dozens of tanks, large and small, show visitors the brilliantly colored coral, fishes, and other sea life they might encounter while snorkeling or diving in different parts of Hawaii. The exhibit also offers interpretive and identifying information, as well as the chance to observe at some of the critters that sometimes get overlooked when diving or snorkeling, such as crabs, eels, lobsters, sea snakes, and sea horses (which wrap their tails around each other, much like cats curled up together), In addition to the written interpretive information, naturalists are on hand to answer questions and share interesting tidbits

Outdoor touch pools give visitors, especially children, a chance to experience some of the displays first-hand. A popular stop is the sea turtle tank, which harbors a community of green sea turtles, part of a catch and release program that gives these threatened reptiles a chance to mature before being released to the sea.

The Open Ocean Display has Sharks, Rays, and Pelagic Fish

Perhaps the most dramatic exhibit in the Ocean Center is the Open Ocean Display, a 750,000-gallon tank, which can be experienced in two exciting ways. The vast majority of visitors walk through an acrylic tunnel that goes through the middle of tank, offering 360-degree, three-dimensional views of the Open Ocean's sharks, rays, and 2,000 other fish.

The other option is to jump in. For $190, certified scuba divers can get up close and personal with the hammerheads, tiger sharks, reef sharks, and rays. Supervised dives are held every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning: Reserve first, then show up at 8:15 with all necessary SCUBA gear (wetsuit, BC, regulator, mask, snorkel, fins; the Ocean Center provides weigh belts, tanks, and weights). Dives last between 30 and 40 minutes.

The Maui Ocean Center is open 365 days a year. 192 Ma'alaea Road, Wailuku, Maui. (808) 270-7000.

The copyright of the article Maui Aquarium Has Reefs, Sharks, Sea Turtles in Nature/Wildlife Tours is owned by Karen Berger. Permission to republish Maui Aquarium Has Reefs, Sharks, Sea Turtles in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.