Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium

Ocean adventures await year ’round at Mote Aquarium, home to more than 100 marine species and exhibits showcasing the adjoining Mote Marine Laboratory. See freaky frogfish, huge scuttling lobsters and other denizens of Southwest Florida’s Gulf Coast, including sandbar, nurse, blacknose and bonnethead sharks. Guests can also see manatees and sea turtles and more. At our brand new exhibit, the Seahorse Conservation Laboratory, you can see graceful seahorses and their tiny young, or fry. You can learn about the threats wild seahorses face and watch Mote aquarists raise these fragile fish. Guests might even witness a little seahorse romance or spot a pregnant dad (that's right — male seahorses are the only animal dads that carry young in a belly pouch).  At our new exhibit Sea Turtles: Ancient Survivors, visitors can learn how sea turtles outlived the dinosaurs and how these animals need our help to survive in modern times. An interactive display even lets you follow the journey of real sea turtles tagged in the wild by Mote scientists and see where they went between feeding and breeding seasons. If you want to dive deeper into ocean fun, try our new "Breakfast at Mote" tours. These group tours allow small groups to enjoy Mote’s facilities before we open our doors to the general public. Participants can linger in front of their favorite exhibits, take unobstructed photos and even see bits of our morning routine, from fish feedings to shark tank cleanings. Your admission includes a continental breakfast and guided Aquarium tour. Ticket prices are $23 per person ($11 for Mote members). Go to www.mote.org/breakfast for more info. When you buy a ticket to Mote Aquarium, you support world-renowned research at Mote Marine Laboratory. Visitors can glimpse our cutting-edge science and learn about the lab’s founding director, Eugenie Clark, and the research she did when the lab opened its doors in 1955. You can also see the work she and other researchers are doing at Mote today. Mote Aquarium is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 365 days a year at 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, City Island, Sarasota. Admission prices are $17 for adults, $16 for seniors and $12 for kids ages 4-12. Mote Members and kids 3 and younger always get in free. Read Less