Smithsonian Aquarium, Fort Pierce

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Stuart, FL
Smithsonian Aquarium, Fort Pierce
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The Smithsonian Aquarium in Fort Pierce is in a gorgeous location! Here, little docks jut out into the Indian River Lagoon, which is a stunning turquoise hue. There are little islands set out before you and happy people driving their fishing boats around. A river beach of fine white sand makes a wonderful place for kids to play and chase seagulls. Elderly residents of Fort Pierce take long walks here along the paved path that winds its way along the waterfront, enjoying schools of dolphins that arch up in pursuit of fish. They sit out in the sun or do yoga on the river beach.

There is a playground with many fun features and a water view! Large trees provide shade. The aquarium itself is small but lovingly cared for by friendly volunteers. You can discover many things here, where shelves show you shells, sand dollars, crabs, sea horses. Three tanks show the wildlife under the water in the lagoon. The furry sea grasses are interesting. One large tank shows you the lovely corals and bright fish found in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida. A small beautiful tank shows a Nemo fish and blue sea star in gorgeous corals from the Indo-Pacific. This reminded me of Australia!The touch tank is a fun area. Here you can see a horseshoe crab doing his funny sideways moves. You can poke your finger into a hole where little shrimp will come along and clean your finger for you. It tickles! There are squishy sea cucumbers, conch shells which flip themselves back over if you turn them upside down, and sea urchiins. The touch tank is very nice- probably the best I've seen at an aquarium. Make sure you talk to the volunteers because they will offer up lots of interesting information that will enrich your visit. 
Behind the aquarium is the St Lucie County Regional History Center, a fantastic history museum that is very inspiring.
Afterwards, have lunch in downtown Fort Pierce and walk over to the Manatee Observation Center to see if you can spot any manatees from their lookout tower. They have a few tanks with fish inside, a pond outside with water lilies, an outside wall where kids can compare their height to that of a manatee, plus a lovely butterfly garden with beach sunflowers, sparkling benches, and a winding path with butterfly designs. 
While in Fort Pierce, you must go to the Heathcote Botanical Gardens, a tropical paradise with themed gardens and lovely flowers everywhere! They have Christmas lights in December.
The town of Fort Pierce, from the freeway to the coast, is quite ugly, but once you get to the water, things improve. Overall, this is a poor area, and you won't find anything ritzy.

Continue to directions...

I love the color of the water!

Kids enjoying the white sand beach on the Indian River Lagoon.

The Smithsonian Aquarium building.

The manatee sculpture that greets you at the entrance.

Sculpture behind the aquarium.

Playground, shade gazebos, and trees outside the aquarium.

Toddlers checking out the coastal Florida reef tank.

Sea biscuits, urchins, and sand dollars.

Little shrimp in the touch tank that clean your finger for you!

Sea cucumber and nine-arm sea star in the touch tank.

Horseshoe crab shells.

Colorful coral in the Indo-Pacific tank.

Blue sea star.

Blue sea star in the Indo-Pacific tank.

The gorgeous park behind the aquarium.

It's always beautiful to look through branches at the water.

View from the walking path behind the aquarium.

Playground in the park behind the aquarium.

Picnic gazebo with a view.

Dock near the aquarium.

Dock near the aquarium.

South Causeway Beach.

Doing yoga at South Causeway Beach.

12A Buoy Restaurant, across the bridge.

Directions

Smithsonian Aquarium is located at 420 Seaway Dr, Fort Pierce FL 34949, call (772) 462-3474.
Exit Highway 95 at Orange Ave and head toward the ocean for five miles. Turn left on Indian River Dr. Turn right on Seaway Dr and once you cross the bridge, the aquarium is on your left. There is a large sign and a left-turn lane.
Open Tues-Sat 10-4, Sun 12-4, and from Jan-Mar on Mon 10-4. Closed on holidays.
Cost is $4, children aged 4-17 and seniors $3.

map

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Last Updated: Fri, 16 Dec 2022 13:47:30 GMT

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