Bookable
An Apollonaut travel guide
Moments in a longer story.
Selected milestones in the history of the New England Aquarium.
On this page
A wharf, a tank and a reef
These dates describe the place you can learn about here. They are not a company timeline for Apollonaut.
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1962
Planning begins
Work begins on plans for an aquarium on Boston’s waterfront.
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20 June 1969
Opening day
The New England Aquarium opens on Central Wharf.
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1970
The Giant Ocean Tank
The 200,000-gallon Giant Ocean Tank opens.
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2001
The Simons Theatre
A theatre for large-format films opens in a separate building on the wharf.
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2009
Marine Mammal Center
The New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center opens.
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2011
Touch tank
The Trust Family Foundation Shark and Ray Touch Tank becomes permanent.
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2013
A renewed reef
The Giant Ocean Tank reopens with an expanded coral reef.
Follow the stories behind the dates
A timeline is a beginning. The longer history introduces the people and places; the sources below provide further context.
Read at the source
Sources & further reading
Links lead to the original publishers.
