NOAA Fisheries Woods Hole Science Aquarium is a winner in the 2023 Cape Cod Life Reader's Choice Awards list. It netted a silver recognition for “best Upper Cape kid's activity.” The Woods Hole Science Aquarium is the nation’s oldest public aquarium, open to the public year-round. The collection includes fish and invertebrate species found in the ocean off the northeastern United States. It's also home to a 23-year-old harbor seal named Bubba.
Cape Cod Life is a regional lifestyle magazine. Its annual reader’s choice awards are the original and longest-running readers' choice awards in our area. The awards are based on thousands of votes from their readers.
“The aquarium has received reader’s choice awards in the past, and we are delighted that visitors have returned us to the list and are coming back to learn more about sea life in our region and how NOAA Fisheries supports a healthy ocean,” said Teri Frady, who supervises the aquarium’s operations. The aquarium was closed to visitors for more than 2 years during the pandemic. It reopened in July 2022.
Some families have visited the aquarium together for generations, while new visitors discover this local gem each year. The aquarium is a popular summer attraction and a resource for schools in the region. The summer is its high season when more than 50,000 visitors pass through its doors. Off-season it hosts multiple school and community groups as well as casual visitors.
The aquarium is located in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. In addition to the original NOAA Fisheries Laboratory, the village is home to several world-renowned marine science institutions including:
- University of Chicago Marine Biological Laboratory
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- Woodwell Climate Research Center
- U.S. Geological Survey’s Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
NOAA Fisheries traces its origin back to 1871 when it became the first science laboratory established in Woods Hole. By 1875, the laboratory was a year-round operation and a research aquarium was added. The founder of the lab, Spencer Baird, encouraged visitors to the aquarium from the very beginning, and subsequent directors followed his lead.
