SEA LIFE® Aquarium Arizona

The SEA LIFE® Aquarium near Phoenix is home to over 5,000 animals and is an excellent attraction for families. One major draw is you don’t simply look at animals, you interact with them. First of all, the aquarium hosts a number of educational talks as well as feeding demonstrations with rays and sharks. Additionally, a touch pool allows you to hold crabs, starfish, sea squirts and shellfish.

While there are many animals to explore at SEA LIFE Aquarium, there are some visitor favorites. One is a white tip reef shark -- especially interesting to watch during feeding time -- named Jr. residing in a 161,000 gallon (60,9451 liter) ocean tank. There’s also Loki the Giant Pacific Octopus, known as the trickster around the aquarium and a lover of shellfish and crustaceans. Then there’s Zival, Arizona’s first green sea turtle and an herbivore that lives in the water but breathes oxygen. Fun fact: Did you know female green sea turtles will swim thousands of miles just to lay their eggs in the same place they were born? These are just a few of the interesting resident creatures you’ll encounter at the SEA LIFE Aquarium.