Sealife is on full display with over 13,000 aquatic animals including 60 sharks and stingrays at the new St. Louis Aquarium.
It is a 120,000 square foot facility in the St. Louis’ Union Station, where once the mall was located. The main attraction is a 250,000-gallon shark tank that includes oceanic aquatic life.
The Experience
First, you wait in your timed line to go into the aquarium. I do like this so it is not too crazy busy inside and the line moved pretty fast.
As you enter you can do a photo in front of the green screen, which Andrew was not into doing so we went on. Next, you wait in another area as a large group. Here they have vivid images of sea life above you swimming about. This was a nice effect. Also, at the front in cogs and wheels, you can view a tall fish tank.
The Train Ride
Then after waiting here a bit, you sit down to take an imagined train ride. This is a nice nod to the attraction being in a train station. Here you listen to conductor John Goodman, an actor from St. Louis in “Rosanne” and “The Connors” talk about the Arch, St. Louis and the history of Union Station.
Then he takes you into the Mississippi River and you see the river life and down the river to the Gulf of Mexico to encounter sea life. From there we go back upriver and the ride is over.
Confluence Gallery
The first gallery has aquatic animals you’ll find in the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, which meet here in St. Louis.
Paddlefish, long nose gar, largemouth bass, and crappie are some of the fish you’ll encounter here in a large tank.
Smaller tanks hold crawfish and snakes and other fish.
Global Rivers
Travel South America, Africa, and Southeast Asian riverways where we saw river “monsters” and even tiny colorful fish.
A touch tank allows you to put your hand in be tickled by many tiny “doctor” fish. It was a little too weird for Andrew. A sink is nearby to clean your hands off.
A huge Arowana fish roamed an aquarium that represented an Asian river. Aquariums include red tail catfish and even piranhas.
Andrew enjoyed exploring the interactive globe where he learned about more unique animals in the waters of the Earth.
Changing Rivers
This exhibit showcases animals that live in and around freshwater rivers. We watched the river otters frolic about. Owls and sloths can also be seen here.
Andrew enjoyed the play area where he got his hands wet with an interactive table where he moved dams and used sand to build up a shoreline.
The Ocean Shore
Here you’ll find touch tanks where you can experience sea life in the shallows.
Feel the shells of horseshoe crabs, soft skin of a cucumber, and spines of a pencil sea urchin.
You can also touch and feed small sharks and stingrays. I’m not sure how the feeding worked, but we did touch them.
To the Shark Canyon
We headed down a long hallway to go towards Shark Canyon. I think they need to do something different in this area here. A few spots you can peak into this large aquarium, but for the most part, it was a dark hallway. I think they should widen this and maybe put in some more small aquariums, it just needs more.
The Shark Canyon tank was huge and you could see plenty of sea life such as gray reef sharks and devil rays swimming around. Brightly colored surgeonfish came by the glass and a giant grouper came by. Thousands of sardines also inhabit this aquarium.
The Deep
The last exhibit area explores the deep ocean.
A large red octopus can be found in his own tank. He was still getting used to his new place since he was in a corner. These are very smart animals.
Animals that produce light were cool to see in the dark surroundings in another tank. Andrew liked that they lit up.
Andrew liked the variety of jellyfish floating about. They puffed in and out as they swam by us.
The sea horses were cool since they blended into their surroundings. We worked together to spot each one.
We also saw the prehistoric fang fish with monster teeth and an electric eel partially hidden under a rock.
The Gift Shop
After the Deep, we headed into the gift shop. It was decent with lots of sea life toys and plush animals.
They were well staffed here and we were able to buy a plush sea turtle fast. If I had bought an annual pass I could have received a discount. We headed back out to the train station after about an hour in the aquarium.
I think if you allow an hour to tour the place, which is probably enough time.
My Take:
It would have been nice to have a separate line for annual passes at the ticket booth. I wanted to turn my one-day pass to an annual pass and the line was too long to do that or a way to do this by phone.
I hope they expand to have more large tanks or shows. It would be great to have marine shows or a tank with larger aquatic animals. I think for $25 it is a little high until they have more tanks. The other option is to have a pass that includes other attractions on the property such as the Ferris Wheel or the Ropes Course.
Details:
Parking: Two large parking locations are available for guests: West Parking Lot and South Parking Lot (between 20th St. and 18th St.). A $5 parking discount is available when you purchase a ticket online or from the ticketing window
Hours: 10 am – 6 pm Sunday – Thursday, 10 am – 9 pm Friday – Saturday.
Admission: Adults $25, Children (3-12) $18.
Note on Annual Pass: With an annual pass, you don’t need to have a timed admission you can visit anytime. When you buy your annual passes online, you will bring the email confirmation to the Aquarium on your first visit, get your picture taken and pick up your passes.
Each pass purchased is associated with the specific person whose name and photo will be on the pass.
More information can be found online.
Address: 201 S 18th St, St. Louis, MO 63103
Where We Ate Lunch
Union Station Restaurants
We were going to have dinner at Landry’s Seafood – Union Station, but there was a 45-minute wait. The place was not even half full, so not sure what the issue was, maybe they didn’t have enough servers?
Also, on the grounds was the Union Station Soda Fountain, which has adult shakes, sundaes, unique sodas, spirits, and sandwiches. There was also a wait here. Since we had a kid we didn’t eat at the higher end restaurants: The Train Shed, Station Grille, and The Grand Hall.
Walked to Maggie O’Brien’s
Anyway, we walked up to Maggie O’Brien’s an Irish pub near the Union Station. We were able to sit down without a wait. I ordered appetizers for Andrew and I. This included toasted ravioli, a St. Louis delicacy, along with chicken fingers with their bacon honey mustard and Reuben rolls with a side of Thousand Island.
The appetizers were not large portions. I think the toasted ravioli was good although I’m not sure if I would do the Reuben rolls again. The chicken tenders were the best deal, were tasty and had the best sauce. Next time we are there I’ll do a proper sandwich.
Hours: 11 am – 11 pm Sunday to Tuesday and 11 am – 1:30 am Wednesday – Saturday.
Address: 2000 Market St, St. Louis, MO 63103
Where to Stay
St. Louis Union Station Hotel, Curio Collection By Hilton
You can walk through the main hall where the aquarium is located to where the beautifully restored Union Station hotel is located.
The main station house has sweeping archways, fresco and gold leaf detailing, mosaics and glass windows. It is worth checking out even if you don’t stay the night.
Address: 1820 Market St, St. Louis, MO 63103
Shows
Fire Show on the Lake
Free shows take place on the lake in the back of the train station. Fire, water, and light music show feature a 100-foot long waterfall with 50 nozzles that spray water 40 feet down into the lake. Lights will turn the water into a variety of glowing colors accented by the icicle lights decorating the surrounding trees.
Times: 5 pm, 5:30 pm, 6 pm, 6:30 pm, 7 pm, 7:30 pm, 8 pm, 8:30 pm, and 9 pm.
Daily in the Grand Hall for Hotel Guests
You can experience the color of a stunning 3D light show when you stay at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton. Each night, watch as flowers sway, fireworks burst and other images dance around the 65-foot ceiling of the Grand Hall lobby in a state of the art show designed specifically for this St. Louis hotel.
Times: Shows run on the hour from 5 pm – 10 pm daily.
Other Attractions
Hours For All of Them: 10 am – 10 pm
The St. Louis Wheel
A 200-foot high observation wheel with 42 fully enclosed, climate-controlled gondolas that seat up to six adults each. Wheel passengers will take three to four rotations high over the St. Louis skyline during the 15-minute ride.
Admission: $12.86 Adult and $8.57 Child 3-12. The VIP Gondola costs $50 per person with a private gondola and seating for up to 4 participants.
Carousel
Ride with horses and exotic animals designs.
Admission: $4.29
Mini-Golf
An 18-hole landscaped miniature golf course with interactive elements.
Admission: $8.57
Mirror Maze
Navigate your way through a labyrinth of mirrors and test your World’s Fair knowledge with interactive experiences and explore the curiosities in the Fun House.
Admission: $6.86
Ropes Course
Test your agility, strength, and nerves on their indoor Ropes Course overlooking historic Union Station. More than 90,000-cubic feet of climbing space and 30 obstacles take you almost to the top of the trainshed. The SkyRail, a 100-foot long rigid zip line glides 50 feet above the Union Station lobby.
A miniature version of the course, Sky Tykes, is available for our youngest guests who are under-48 inches tall.
Admission good for 30 minutes: $15 General and Sky Tykes $5
Koi Fish
In the lake, you can also feed the koi fish for 25 cents.
During Christmas time the train station does a Polar Express.
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