National Aquarium in Baltimore, Baltimore (must see)

The National Aquarium in Baltimore is a 250,000-square-foot aquarium. It has over 17,000 animals of more than 750 species. With more than 1.5 million visitors per year, it is the most visited tourist attraction in Maryland.

The aquarium offers many different exhibitions. These include an exhibit that features the Atlantic coral reef, a tropical rainforest, Australia's unique marine life, and an open-ocean shark tank. The National Aquarium also has a 4D theatre with daily, rotating shows.

The aquarium features special events that guests can add to the aquarium experience. These special events include behind-the-scenes tours, dolphin training, guest diving, and family sleepovers.

The National Aquarium, founded in 1978, officially opened as a national marine exhibit in 1981. It was designed by architect Peter Chermayeff. The Glass Pavilion expansion, added in 2005, was designed by Bobby C. Poole.

The Glass Pavilion is a five-level building. The first level is called the Blacktip Reef. It has a 265,000-gallon tank with 69 species of fish, including the blacktip reef shark. The second level, Maryland: Mountains to the Sea, shows animals that are indigenous to Maryland, like the wood turtle and the American bullfrog.

The third level of the Glass Pavilion shows sea life that has evolved over the years, like the electric eel. Level four features the Amazon River and the Pacific coral reef. Birds like Atlantic puffins and snakes like emerald tree boas can be seen here. The final level is the Tropical Rain Forest, which offers several different animals like the scarlet ibis, the yellow-headed amazon parrot, the blue poison dart frog, and Linnaeus's two-toed sloth.

The aquarium focuses strongly on conservation. Nearly half of the power for the marine exhibit comes from a solar farm. The National Aquarium Conservation Center was established in 2009 to research improving coastal ecosystems, aquaculture, and watersheds.