Maritime Gloucester

Maritime Gloucester Touch Tank Aquarium. Interactive Exhibits. Schooner Sails. Working Waterfront. Educational Programs. Open Year Round.

A destination experience on Gloucester's working waterfront celebrating our maritime heritage, the Gloucester community, and our connection to the ocean. Step into history at Maritime Gloucester, on historic Gloucester Harbor, where interactive exhibits and a working waterfront bring the past to life. Meet live sea creatures in our interactive touch tanks and aquarium, sail on Gloucester Harbor ab

oard traditional schooners, raise a sail, or explore the wonders of the sea. Home of the Gloucester Schooner Festival held each Labor Day Weekend.

08/31/2026

Which one of our animals are you? 👀🐟⭐️

The chill one? The curious one? The one who’s always up to something? 🤭

Come find your animal match in person! 🐠🦀🐚

Visit our aquarium and museum this Labor Day weekend during the 42nd annual Schooner Fest for a weekend full of maritime fun, fascinating creatures, and plenty to explore. ⛵️🌊

Tag your animal twin & come sea us this weekend! 💙

🌊 Last chance to join us this Thursday!Join us at Maritime Gloucester for an inspiring Speaker Series event featuring Ma...
08/25/2026

🌊 Last chance to join us this Thursday!

Join us at Maritime Gloucester for an inspiring Speaker Series event featuring Mattie Rodrigue, Chief Operating Officer at Ocean Alliance, marine biologist, ocean policy expert, and lifelong ocean advocate.

📅 Thursday, August 27
🕕 6:00–7:30 PM
📍 Maritime Gloucester

Come hear Mattie share her expertise and passion for protecting our oceans. Don’t miss out, get your tickets while you still can! 🐋🌊

🎟️ https://www.maritimegloucester.org/event-details/speaker-series-mattie-rodrigue-coo-ocean-alliance-2

Save the date - Boats are needed. Saturday, September 5th for the 2026 Annual Parade of Lights Boat Parade in Gloucester...
08/24/2026

Save the date - Boats are needed. Saturday, September 5th for the 2026 Annual Parade of Lights Boat Parade in Gloucester during Gloucester Schooner Festival. Let's celebrate the 250th America, decorate your boats and houses along the route.

08/20/2026

A few weeks ago, we had our Intern Symposium, where our interns had the opportunity to showcase the research they worked on throughout the summer! 🦀🔬🌊🪸🪼

Here’s a look at just a few of the presentations our interns shared this year:

🦞 Sofia studied pigmentation in lobsters and explored how genetic mutations can affect their coloring.

🌊 Emily looked at fouling communities and how they grow and develop throughout Gloucester Harbor.

🐟 Nayla studied fish and microplastic ingestion, specifically looking at nurdles and how they can make their way into the diets of saltwater fish.

🦞 Atlas explored the behavioral traits of lobsters and investigated what their behaviors can tell us about these fascinating animals.

And, of course, a HUGE shoutout to all of our interns who spent their summer with us!

💙 This was genuinely one of the most intelligent, hardworking, and dedicated groups of individuals, and we truly couldn’t make Maritime Gloucester run without them.

We’re so grateful for everything you brought to our team this summer and all the hard work you put into your research. We wish you all the very best of luck as you head back to school, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for each and every one of you! 🎓🦞🌊

Thank you for an incredible summer, interns! 💙

08/08/2026

⏸️ Take a scroll break… it’s feeding time! 🐠🦐

Here’s a look at the big feed in action! 💙

07/30/2026

Keeping our tanks clean is something we take seriously! 🫧💙 We scrub our tanks every day and perform water changes multiple times a week to help maintain excellent water quality and keep algae growth under control. But as anyone who works with aquatic animals knows… sometimes the “housekeeping crew” has other plans 🤣🐠

Our animals always come first, so we only clean as much as we can without causing unnecessary stress. A perfectly spotless tank isn’t always the healthiest option if it means disrupting the animals that call it home.

💧 Fun facts:

• Regular water changes help remove waste and excess nutrients that can contribute to algae growth and declining water quality.

• Algae naturally grow in aquatic systems, their growth is influenced by nutrients and lighting, so some algae are completely normal.

• Research has shown that routine tank cleaning can temporarily increase stress-related behaviors in fish, which is why we always prioritize our animals’ comfort over making a tank look picture-perfect.
Healthy animals > spotless glass, every single time. 💙🌊

07/19/2026

Happy Sunday! Take a second to give a rock crab a spin 🦀

Rock crabs are tough little crustaceans! The claws you’re holding hands with aren’t just for show, one is built for crushing hard shells like mussels and clams, while the other is better for tearing food apart. If they lose a claw escaping a predator, they can actually regrow it over several molts.

They’re also masters of camouflage, blending in with rocks and seaweed to avoid predators (and unsuspecting beachgoers). Next time you’re tide pooling, keep an eye out, you might be looking right at one without realizing it!

🦀 Tiny crab. Big attitude. 10/10 would politely spin again.

07/17/2026

Big Mama is heading home. 🦞💙

While we’re sad to say goodbye, we’re so excited to share that Big Mama is being released back into the ocean because she’s carrying eggs! 🥹✨

At Maritime Gloucester, our aquarium is a closed system, which means if Big Mama released her eggs here, they wouldn’t be able to make their way into the ocean. By returning her to the wild, we’re giving her babies the best chance to grow up big and strong, just like their mama. 🌊

Did you know? Female lobsters carrying eggs are protected by fishermen using a special V-notch cut into the right center tail fin. This notch is a widely recognized signal that helps ensure breeding females are released, supporting healthy lobster populations for generations to come. ♻️

Before sending Big Mama on her journey, we removed her claw bands so she has full range of motion in the wild (and yes, they’re biodegradable!). We also release all of the animals in our care after about a year, giving them the opportunity to return to their natural habitat.

Join us in wishing Big Mama safe travels and a successful journey into motherhood!

💌 Drop your well wishes in the comments below. 🫶

Address

23 Harbor Loop
Gloucester, MA
01930

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sunday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

(978) 281-0470

Website

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