North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores

North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores is a 93,000-square-foot aquarium on Bogue Banks along the Crystal Coast. The aquarium tells the story of North Carolina’s aquatic environments from the mountains to the sea, featuring river otters, sea turtles, sharks, and jellyfish in exhibits that trace water’s journey across the state.

The Living Shipwreck exhibit — a recreation of a German U-boat sunk off the NC coast during World War II — is the aquarium’s centerpiece, housing sharks, groupers, and other species that colonize artificial reef structures. The Mountain-to-Sea gallery connects freshwater and marine ecosystems in a continuous narrative.

North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores holds AZA accreditation and is part of the state’s three-aquarium system along the North Carolina coast.