The Touch Tank
Shallow, sun-warm, and full of gentle characters. Dip a finger and a sea star might inch onto your palm; a hermit crab may peek out to say hello. Staff-guided, always kind to the critters.
Tap the water to make waves
Welcome to Tidepool — a hands-on marine discovery center where the water really ripples, the sea stars are real, and every rock hides a surprise. Roll up your sleeves.
No glass between you and the shore. Our naturalists are always nearby with a fun fact and a steady hand.
Shallow, sun-warm, and full of gentle characters. Dip a finger and a sea star might inch onto your palm; a hermit crab may peek out to say hello. Staff-guided, always kind to the critters.
A boardwalk winds over our re-created rocky shore. Lift a (fake) rock, log what you spot, and earn a naturalist sticker. Low tide, all day, every day.
Duck into our cool, swaying tunnel and look up. Light dapples down through nine-metre fronds while garibaldi and señorita fish flicker past. It smells like the real ocean, because it is.
Tap any critter to turn its card over. Each one hides a genuinely weird, totally true fact.
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Curriculum-linked programs for ages 5–14, led by marine educators. Book a half-day and we'll handle the wellies.
Ages 5–8. Sorting, counting, and naming — a first field notebook and a real hand-lens to keep.
Ages 9–11. Why the sea breathes twice a day: moons, gravity, and a wave tank they control.
Ages 12–14. Microplastics, warming water, and a real survey that feeds our conservation dataset.
We're right on Gull Cove pier — follow the smell of salt and the sound of laughing kids.
Ages 3–15. Includes every exhibit, a touch-tank session, and a sticker to earn.
Two grown-ups, up to three kids. Best value, endless splashing, one nap guaranteed on the way home.
Questions, group bookings, or just want to say hi to Nigel the resident lobster? We're all ears (well, we don't have ears, but you get it).
hello@tidepool.example