Aquarium’s summer season features waterfront beer garden, extended hours, whale watches

BOSTON, MASS. (June 17, 2025) – The New England Aquarium is kicking off its summer season with extended visitor hours, a beer garden on Central Wharf Plaza featuring an expansive menu, and daily whale watch excursions.

The Aquarium is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Labor Day. Guests can purchase tickets to reserve timed ticket slots online at neaq.org. On weekdays, New England residents receive $5 off standard Aquarium admission or admission and movie combinations.

Highlights of the summer season include:

Dining options at the Aquarium

• Dockside Beer Garden – Steps away from the most expansive views of Boston Harbor, Dockside Beer Garden on Central Wharf features a refreshed menu of snacks, sandwiches, and salads along with local craft brews, a variety of wines, freshly-created cocktails, and spiked seltzers. Summer hours are 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. On July 2, the beer garden will have extended operating hours until 10 p.m. for the Boston Harborfest.
• Harbor View Café – Located on the second floor of the Aquarium, the recently renovated café offers daily specials and a menu of sandwiches, pizza, grilled items, soups, and salads. With a casual counter-service setting and floor-to-ceiling windows offering spectacular views of Boston Harbor, the Harbor View Café is a convenient option for guests looking for a quick bite to eat. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
• Ben & Jerry’s – The Central Wharf Plaza kiosk is serving up scoops of beloved Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavors from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The location will shift to summer hours beginning June 29, operating 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily through Labor Day.

Simons Theatre films

• The Aquarium’s Simons Theatre is offering daily showings of three films: Shark Kingdom, Secrets of the Sea, and Call of the Dolphins. The newest film, Shark Kingdom, is an epic adventure into some of the world’s most scenic and remote shark waters.
• Tickets and show times are available at all Aquarium ticketing locations by calling 617-973-5206 or by visiting neaq.org.

Whale watch tours

• The New England Aquarium Whale Watch in partnership with Boston Harbor City Cruises sails daily to Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, a rich feeding ground for whales, dolphins, sea birds, and other marine animals. Aquarium naturalists share knowledge, answer questions, and explain the fascinating behaviors of these truly magnificent mammals. To see the schedule and learn more, visit the Boston Harbor City Cruises website.

Boston Duck Tours

• Boston Duck Tours, the city’s most popular sightseeing tour, depart hourly from Central Wharf right in front of the Aquarium. Duck Tours guests receive $3 off New England Aquarium standard price tickets at the Aquarium’s Box Office.

New exhibits

• The Aquarium’s Ancestral Fishes exhibit explores the 500-million-year evolution of fishes and their ancestral traits highlighting their influence on modern species, including humans. This second-floor space showcases extraordinary species like longnose gar, shovelnose sturgeon, and Australian lungfish, highlighting their ancestral traits such as scales, lobed fins, and ability to breathe air.
• Guests can experience “Healthy Corals, Healthy Reefs,” a 15-foot, nearly 5,000-gallon exhibit that is home to a variety of live coral species native to the Indo-Pacific region. The first-floor exhibit features species that are new to the Aquarium, such as angelfish, butterfly fish, wrasses, surgeonfish, and reef dwelling invertebrates. Interactive elements provide a variety of multi-sensory experiences for tactile and visually impaired learners.

Daily presentations and interactive programs

• Aquarium guests can enjoy daily presentations with the penguins, sea lions, harbor seals, and residents of the Giant Ocean Tank, including Myrtle the green sea turtle. Full schedule available here.
• Join an educator along the exhibit path for an up-close experience with one of the Aquarium’s animal ambassadors. Learn more about the secret world of lobsters, local turtle species, or axolotls during animal encounters happening daily at 10:45 a.m. and 3:15 p.m.
• Guests can also stop by an interactive educational space on the third floor called the Exploration Station, which offers both guided and self-led themed activities. Families can engage with sensory activities, pretend to be an Aquarium veterinarian, and spend some down time reading books.

MEDIA CONTACT: Pam Bechtold Snyder—617-686-5068; [email protected]