If Fish Can Swim in Schools...

...then why can't you! Well, because your teacher may not approve of your swim-suit attire or soaking wet hair, so we came up with other fun, Back-to-School adventures that won't leave sea-weed hanging from your desk.

All of the sea creatures at SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium are gearing up for the first day of school, including our mascot, Sharky! Sharky has been anxiously awaiting this day for months; in fact, he has been scoping out the best spots at the Mall of America to purchase Back-to-School clothing and accessories. Check out this video to see what Sharky finds on his latest Extreme Adventure...

Sharky found so much great stuff while searching through the Mall of America that he had to split his adventure into two videos! Stay tuned to SEA LIFE Minnesota's YouTube page for the next video!

Buying and receiving school supplies is great, but giving to those in need is even better! Right now, TruStone Financial Federal Credit Union is asking Twin Cities communities and businesses to help collect school supplies for children in grades K-12. Those who donate will receive a FREE SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium child admission coupon! More information can be found here.

Summer is swimming by, so we want to help people make the most of it! To do this, we are extending our online ticket sale! The general public can currently purchase tickets for as low as $9.99 until the end of summer! Click here for more information and to purchase your tickets!

Sharky's Extreme Adventures at Scooops Kid Spa

Sharky's had another great day out in the Mall of America! This time he went out to Scooops Kid Spa for a day of pampering and relaxation. It looks like he had a great time with the staff there while they gave him a manicure and hair styling appointment - who knew a shark would enjoy getting his nails done so much!

Check out the video to Sharky living the good life - it's the only time you'll get to see him wearing a robe and a tiara!

Juvenile Nurse Shark Moves into Rainbow Reef

It's been a big day here at the SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium! After rescuing a juvenile Nurse Shark from the aquarium at a recently closed local restaurant, we released her into the Rainbow Reef Tank to swim among the Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles, French Angelfish and  Brown-banded Bamboo Sharks - just to name a few!

While this Nurse Shark is only about two feet long right now, she may grow to be up to ten feet long, and live to be well into her twenties. Since Nurse Sharks are generally nocturnal animals, the Rainbow Reef Tank will provide her with lots of ledges and crevices that she can rest under during the daytime, before becoming more active and exploring her new tank.

Our Animal Expert and Displays Curator, Carly Byrns, said that the shark " seems like she's doing really well in her new home, and is adjusting to living with her new roommates. We're excited to have her here and are looking forward to seeing her become accustomed to life at the aquarium,".

Remember, even though a shark may seem like a fun pet, they require a lot of attention additional to what your average aquarium creature needs! This includes a 2,000 gallon tank (at least), to garuantee that the shark has enough space to live and grow. Also, sharks should be fed good quality frozen food, not the fish flakes you feed the rest of your aquarium fish. Here at the aquarium, our sharks get restaurant quality food on a regular basis!

Watch the video below of the Nurse Shark moving in!

Shark Week is Almost Here!

It's official: Shark Week is only a few days away! Here at the aquarium, we can't wait to see what the Discovery Channel has to share about some of the ocean's "toothiest" creatures!

While we may not have videos of shark attacks or of Great White Sharks jumping out of the water, we do have more than six different species of free-swimming sharks in our Atlantis exhibit!

As a way to share our excitement, we've put together a selection of cool facts about these sharks. Did you know...

Sand Tiger Sharks are the only sharks known to come to the surface to gulp air, which allows them to float motionless in the water while they hunt for prey! They grow to be up to 10 feet long and have a mouthful of vicious looking teeth protruding in all directions.

Nurse Sharks are nocturnal, and are often found on the sea floor in groups of up to 40 - sometimes even piled up on top of each other! They are generally harmless to humans, but have thousands of tiny, serrated teeth that they will use defensively.

Next, our Blacktip Reef Sharks, which are easy to recognize because of their black-tipped fins. They have to swim constantly with their mouths open in order to let oxygen-rich water flow over their gills.

Come by the tunnel at the SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium to check out the rest of our shark species! One more cool fact before you go: sharks don't have a swim bladder like most other fish, and will sink to the bottom if they stop swimming!

Conservation Competition!

How do you conserve resources at home? Maybe you use energy efficient light bulbs, or maybe you've started recycling! You might even have started taking shorter showers, participating in river clean-ups or organized a carpool to work! However you do it, we want to hear about it!

For our current SEA LIFE contest, we're asking all you conservation-conscious readers to describe your favorite ways to save energy and water! Submit photos, stories or videos to our Facebook page describing your efforts and earn a chance to win 4 all-day SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium passes, a guided tour of the aquarium (including Behind-the-Scenes!), and an opportunity to meet our animal curator!

Check out the video to learn more, or click here to visit our Facebook page!

The Aquarium doors are open!

In response to the Minnesota government shutdown, the SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium has decided to open its doors to all recently laid off state employees! The 22,000 state workers who are out of work as of today, July 1st, can visit the aquarium for free from now until the state is back up and running - all they need is a copy of their lay off notice.
And that's not all! Laid off employees don't need to come alone to take advantage of this great deal - any family members who accompany the employee will receive admission for only 50% of the usual price. It's a great chance for state employees and their families to relax and have some family fun, all while discovering over 10,000 of our sea creatures!

It couldn't be any simpler - the only thing the state employee needs to do is provide a copy of their lay off notice, and get ready for a great day hanging out with our sea turtles, sharks and jellyfish, just to name a few!

Check out our website or "like" our Facebook page to stay updated on great aquarium deals!

Sharky's Extreme Adventures: Mirror Maze

Check out the second episode of Sharky's Extreme Adventures! This time, Sharky visited the Amazing Mirror Maze at the Mall of America. He filmed part of this one himself, so we got to see exactly what he did throughout the maze! From what we could tell, Sharky definitely took some wrong turns and bumped into a few walls...watch the video to see if he made it out!



Come back next week to see the newest episode! 

Welcome Bubbles!

Thanks to the help of all our awesome Facebook fans, we officially have a name for our Green Sea Turtle! From now on, you'll be able to find Bubbles in the Atlantis exhibit in the ocean tunnel. Come by the SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium to see how she's settling into her new home with the other sea turtles, sharks and stingrays!

Happy 4th of July Special!

We always have a ton of great deals here at the SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium, but we're really excited about one coming up for this weekend! Guests who buy their tickets online will receive aquarium admission from June 29th until July 4th for just $10! Admission includes express entry, an opportunity to touch some of the animals in the Rockpool, and a chance to see all 10,000 of our sea creatures. Click here to buy your tickets now, or "like" our Facebook page to learn more!

We are also offering families of currently deployed soldiers free family memberships! Bring your service member's deployment papers to the SEA LIFE Minnesota box office (first floor, east side) at the Mall of America to learn more!

See you all this weekend!

Sharky's Extreme Adventures: Sky Deck

Hey everyone! We have great news - Sharky is starting his very own video blog, Sharky's Extreme Adventures. It will keep track of all the exciting and crazy things he does around SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium and the Mall of America! 

In this first episode, Sharky went up to the Sky Deck to play some games and go bowling. Check out the video below to see how much fun he had!

Sharky's next video blog post will be coming soon, so stay tuned! There's rumors going around that he's visiting some pretty awesome places, we can't wait to see what he does next!

Sharky's fun-filled weekend!

Sharky's got another busy weekend ahead of him! Tomorrow (Saturday, June 18th), he'll be spending the day at Cub Foods in Eagan, with some of the animals from our Rockpool! Visitors will be able to learn all about some of our sea creatures here at SEALIFE Minnesota Aquarium, including Chocolate Chip Sea Stars and Horseshoe Crabs! It's also a great way to pick up some coupons for your next visit to the aquarium!


On Sunday, June 19th, Cub Foods will be bringing Sharky and the gang to Como Park for a free picnic! The event will run between 11am - 2pm at the East Picnic Pavilions at Como Park. There will be plenty of delicious food, races and games! 

Can't wait to see you there!

PS- if you haven't voted on our Green Sea Turtle's name yet, go to our Facebook Page, "Like" us, and tell us what you think!
We're trying to decide between Seemore, Bubbles and Sweet Pea! Which is your favorite? Check out the previous blog post to learn more about her story!

Sharky's heading to Saint Paul!

Don't forget to come see Sharky and some of his friends from the aquarium tomorrow, June 11th at Cub Foods in Midway, Saint Paul! They'll be there from 11AM until 3PM and will have lots of cool artifacts, tons of coupons and even a few animals that you can touch! See you there!

First Weekend of Sharky's Cub Foods Summer Tour!

Sharky had an amazing weekend visiting our first two stores of the summer tour!

Hey everybody! Sharky here to tell you all about my awesome weekend at the opener for my Cub Foods Summer Tour! On Saturday, I visited a Cub Foods store in Shakopee where I was greeted by some awesome staff members and had some great interactions with the customers and guests. On Sunday, I paid a visit to another Cub Foods store in St. Louis Park to hang out with customers outside with the SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium team. I got to show kids and families how to touch live animals in our sea creature tank and helped introduce some unique artifacts which I thought was fantastic!

It was a great kick off to Sharky's Cub Foods Summer Tour and I'm very excited to visit my next store in Midway, St. Paul this Saturday June 11th at 11:00AM!

Hope to see everyone there!

Sharky's Cub Foods Summer Tour

Throughout the summer, Sharky will be visiting some of the Cub Foods stores in the Twin Cities area. Along with bringing a few of our team members, he'll be bringing some of the sea creatures and artifacts we have here at the aquarium! This weekend, stop by the Shakopee Cub Foods on Saturday, June 4th and the Knollwood Cub Foods on Sunday, June 5th, for a fun-filled day with Sharky and his friends! They'll be there from 11AM until 3PM both days.

Here is the list of Sharky's tour dates for your local Cub Foods during the summer!


Hope to see you there!


Shakopee - June 4th
Knollwood - June 5th
Midway, St. Paul - June 11th
Eagan - June 18th
White Bear Lake - June 25th
Apple Valley - June 26th
Maple Grove - July 9th
Mankato - July 15th
Minnetonka - July 16th
Hastings - July 17th
Plymouth/Vicksburg - July 22th
Eden Prairie - July 24th
Lake Street - July 30th
Sunray - July 31st
Forest Lake - August 6th

Stay Tuned!

Come back soon to learn more about some of the 10,000 sea creatures at the SEALIFE Minnesota Aquarium from the experts on our team!