The North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores reopened on May 19, 2006, after a 29-month expansion project.
Work began January 2004, after years of planning. The renovated facility is now three times larger than the original, and offers a wealth of new exhibits.
Artist's Rendering of the expanded facilities
at Pine Knoll Shores
Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium Expansion Overview
Although the Aquarium was closed to the public for more than two years, the wait has been more than worthwhile. A new 306,000-gallon ocean tank is just one of the new exhibits now captivating visitors. Other new attractions include shipwreck habitats, jellyfish, river otters, a mountain waterfall, and even a sportfishing exhibit.
Initially, expansion at Pine Knoll Shores was scheduled to begin in 1999, but state funding for the project was diverted in the aftermath of Hurricane Floyd. Meanwhile, similar major renovations were completed at the Aquariums on Roanoke Island and at Fort Fisher. You can help support future expansion efforts by making a contribution to our Help Fill The Tanks! campaign.
PKS staff sorting through
blueprints for expansion
The expanded Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores is three times larger than before, and features exhibits and animals from across North Carolina. Mountain waterfalls, Piedmont rivers, coastal swamps, and offshore shipwrecks are some of the new habitats. Three new classrooms and a new 150-seat auditorium now accommodate an expanded range of education programs and activities.
Visitors get a glimpse of what Blackbeard’s flagship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge, and the sunken German sub
U-352 look like on the ocean floor. The "Living Shipwreck," which displays the wreckage of the sub, features a viewing window more than 60 feet long!
A new, larger gift shop, a snack bar, and increased visitor parking are among the additional welcome additions. And of course, aquatic animals are still the main attraction. Popular favorites like moray eels, octopuses, seahorses, horseshoe crabs, sea turtles and sharks are still featured, but new exhibits now broaden the animal collection. There is a new stingray touch tank, river otter exhibit, mountain trout pool, jellyfish gallery, and a sportfishing exhibit, to name just a few!
Our expansion will include new exhibits featuring
river otters, mountain trout, jellyfish, and more.
