New England Aquarium

New England Aquarium, on the city's waterfront at Central Wharf off Atlantic Ave., is home to more than 40,000 animals representing more than 750 species of fish, invertebrates, mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. The 200,000-gallon, circular glass Giant Ocean Tank with 52 crystal-clear viewing windows rises from the center of the building. The exhibit showcases a re-created Caribbean coral reef community and more than 1,000 marine animals, including sharks, sea turtles and moray eels. Myrtle, the green sea turtle, shares this 23-foot deep tank with hundreds of colorful reef fish.

Encircling the Giant Ocean Tank is the first-floor penguin habitat, where more than 80 birds socialize, preen or simply chill out. On the second level, weedy and leafy seadragons swim about a display replicating Australia's temperate reef. Hands-on areas crowded with grade-schoolers and include The Trust Family Foundation Shark & Ray Touch Tank where cownose rays and epaulette sharks cruise through the crystal-clear waters of the mangrove-themed tank. The 9,000-gallon floor-to-ceiling Indo-Pacific coral reef is home to the biological richness of the reef communities of the tropical Indian Ocean and the western and central Pacific Ocean with thousands of fish, sea turtles, sharks and other marine life.

In the west wing a 5,000-square-foot gallery highlights changing exhibits. Outside, the Atlantic Harbor Seals Exhibit, a free viewing area near the main entrance, allows visitors to watch the playful animals frolicking above and below the water's surface. In the back of the facility abutting the Boston Harborwalk is the glass-walled, open-air New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center, home to Northern fur seals and California sea lions. The Simons IMAX Theatre next door shows 3-D films such as “Incredible Predators” and “Secrets of the Sea.”

Picnicking is permitted. Food is available. Time: Allow 2 hours minimum.