One of the world’s largest scientific and educational centers
The Primorsky Aquarium is Russia’s largest public aquarium, with nearly 500 species of marine and freshwater life being on display in its exhibits, and with almost 10 000 animals calling the facility home. The Aquarium’s collection, which features fauna from all the world’s oceans and climatic zones, is constantly being replenished and improved.
The Primorsky Aquarium is a scientific and educational center within the Russian Academy of Sciences. The institution houses a successful core facility dedicated to marine biology research support.
The Primorsky Aquarium conducts professional breeding programs that produce hundreds of living organisms — its biologists breed jellyfish, amphibians, bony and cartilaginous fish as well as marine mammals.
The Primorsky Aquarium is one of environmental education hubs in Primorye. Here, within a large-scale project called Environmental Education, university professors deliver lectures to their students, while Aquarium educators hold free of charge field trips for schoolers and tours of the exhibits for kindergartners, with thousands of students from Vladivostok and Primorsky Krai attending them. Children passionate about the ocean are welcomed into six clubs of the Growing up at the Aquarium project.
The Primorsky Aquarium offers social programs for youngsters — kids from orphanages, residential care facilities for neglected children and special education schools can visit it without charge. Each last Saturday of the month the institution runs a charity event called Ocean of Hope, during which special needs children interact with marine mammals. In addition, Aquarium educators develop tailored educational programs for special needs children.
The Primorsky Aquarium is one of the largest tourist attractions in the Russian Far East, having welcomed some 2 million visitors from 30 countries since its opening in September of 2016. The scientific and educational center gives the public an opportunity to watch a demonstration of marine mammals’- belugas, bottle-nosed dolphins and a walrus — skills at the Dolphinarium and one-of-a-kind program called Dancing with Rays. Developed by Aquarium scuba-diving biologists, the Dancing with Rays showcases dangerous marine predators — sharks and rays — performing complex series of behaviors, some of which are exclusive for this program.
The Primorsky Aquarium has a team of over one thousand staff members who ensure a smooth daily operation of the institution, provide animals with the best living conditions and help make your visit to the Aquarium an unforgettable experience.