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probably denver or atlanta, but i havent been to very many.
i grew up going to the boston aqaurium and while i like it alot, its not as interesting as either of the others. what ive noticed is that a lot of the best aquariums in the country are located in the mainland far from the coast. Denver is no where near the ocean and has a very nice aquarium. Atlanta is inland quite a bit too and has a great aquarium. i think this is because the people who live in those cities dont get much exposure to the sea and so the city puts more money into them so the people will have more exposure to sea life. Many more people go to the beach on cape cod from boston than in denver. So denver gets the benefit of having a nice aquarium because more of them wont experience the ocean. I was just thinking bout this the other day so its all coming out now, but thats my theory why cities mainland have better aquariums.
^I agree about Atlanta and Boston. I'd say that National Aquarium in Baltimore (not the outpost in DC), or the Aquarium of the Bay in Monterey, CA (and not the outpost at Pier 39 in SF) are my favorites in addition to the Georgia Aquarium. Those three (Monterey, Atlanta, and Baltimore) are my favorites by far.
I'd give an honorable mention to Shedd in Chicago which is Very nice (also better than Boston's) too, but not on the same level as those others in my opinion.
For small aquariums, Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, CT. is great too.
Boston goes down as one of the more overrated ones in my opinion. The location is top-notch (though it's tough to beat Monterey), but it feels dated and is in need of an expansion.
I think I remember that when I was reading about the Atlanta Aquarium that it was set out to be the best in the country when the built it a few years ago. They wanted it to compete on an international level. I've been twice and both times it was ridiculously packed. Very well done building. Denver's aquarium is really nice as well which is good, because there isn't any kind of sea water even remotely close to that area of the country.
Interesting theory about many of the best aquariums being far inland b/c sea life is more exotic to those people since they don't have easy access to the ocean.
For me, Atlanta and Baltimore are neck and neck. I think I might give an edge to the Georgia Aquarium, but I have been there more recently and maybe Baltimore has gotten even better since last time I was there. Both of them are fantastic.
Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans is very nice also, but not on the same level as Baltimore or Atlanta.
I voted Atlanta, but... favorite is Monterrey. I don't really care about aquariums to be honest. The only reason I ever went is because I got dragged to go to them. I'd rather go scuba diving or on a boat than a museum of fish. I'm not big on zoo's, circuses or other forms of animal captivity either. It's much more impressive to see them in the wild (such as whale watching or an alligator coming up to your boat or scuba diving by a coral reef)
I've been to the Georgia, Audubon, Shedd, and South Carolina aquariums (SC's is in Charleston). I've most recently been to the Georgia Aquarium and it's been several years for the others. I remember liking Shedd. The Georgia Aquarium is huge with lots of exhibits, but didn't seem as aesthetically pleasing as I expected on the inside. I need to make another visit in the near future.
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