The National Aquarium’s Animal Care and Rescue Center in Jonestown is offering guided tours of its 60,000-square-foot facility. Photo courtesy of National Aquarium.
The National Aquarium’s Animal Care and Rescue Center in Jonestown is offering guided tours of its 60,000-square-foot facility. Photo courtesy of National Aquarium.

Guests at the National Aquarium in Baltimore can now book guided tours of the aquarium’s 60,000-square-foot, off-site Animal Care and Rescue Center in Jonestown.


The Animal Care and Rescue Center’s staff care for the aquarium’s newly admitted animals, animals that are off exhibit, and rescued animals.

During the hour-and-a-half tour, guests will learn how the center’s staff care for sick and injured marine animals before returning them to the ocean. Guests can also see how animal habitat elements are created for the aquarium’s exhibits.

“We are excited to welcome inquiring minds behind the scenes of the Animal Care and Rescue Center,” curator Ashleigh Clews said in a statement. “This tour allows participants to experience the National Aquarium in a new way and sheds light on the critical work we do—caring for the world’s aquatic treasures and inspiring others to do the same.”

The center is located at 901 E. Fayette Street in Baltimore and typically offers tours at 1:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

The tour is available for guests ages 8 and older, and costs $45 per guest – or $35 for National Aquarium members. The tour price does not include admission to the National Aquarium.

Guests can book a tour by calling the aquarium at 410-659-4269. Members can also book a tour online.

Marcus Dieterle is the managing editor of Baltimore Fishbowl. He returned to Baltimore in 2020 after working as the deputy editor of the Cecil Whig newspaper in Elkton, Md. He can be reached at marcus@baltimorefishbowl.com...