Charleston Marine Life Center

Fantastic experience: Nice educational place about the local incredible marine biology. Short and sweet, took about 30min to see it all.

Fantastic experience: Amazing staff, exhibits and location! This hidden gem of phenomenal! If you're around the Coos, you need to check it out!

Positive experience: Small facility, plan 1 - 2 hours. Friendly staff. Take the time to read all the exhibits upstairs.

Fantastic experience: This was a great family spot! I was allowed to feed a sea urchin and touch a sea cucumber. Tons of ocean related displays with information. Several hands-on and interactive items, including baleen. Wheelchair accessible. Thank you for a great experience!

Positive experience: They have a restaurant (monkey business) The prices were good and the prices were great. You can't take a charter boat or fish or grab from the dock. Had a Good time

Positive experience: A nice side stop. Very friendly and informative.

Positive experience: Nice place to take the kids staff was really nice

Fantastic experience: Awesome little place with incredibly knowledgeable staff. I highly recommend these smaller museums and institutes. There are places to touch sea life as well as many educational kiosks. We sat and watched a fishing boat unload along with the sea lion who was hoping for some fast food. This is not an all day adventure but rather a few hours. Worth the money for sure!

Fantastic experience: This place is amazing! We stopped by today and the entry price was SUPER reasonable. The staff was amazing - they were friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. The exhibits are interactive and fun - the best way for littles to learn is hands on, and this place delivered for our 3 year old.

Fantastic experience: This was such a little treasure! We spent a couple hours here and could have stayed longer. So much great information and so fun for the kids.

Fantastic experience: Very informative and interactive. The personnel courteous and informative

Fantastic experience: What a great little stop. Some of the employees are so passionate about this place and it shows. We were just about to leave and they asked if we had saw the octopus and the jellyfish (which we hadn’t) and they showed them to us and told us their names. They have creatures all on the first level and then skeletal exhibits on the second floor. $5/person to see the exhibits.

Fantastic experience: Interesting and fun. Very small price to get in. They have feel tanks whee you can touch starfish and other marine life.

Fantastic experience: The Volunteers & people were very friendly & informative! it was a free entry day, also feeding time so we got to see them feed that was GREAT! All the creatures are very well taken care of some of the tanks are a bit small but the wild life seems good! Got lots of amazing pictures of sea life you wouldn't normally get to see otherwise! Really enjoys this lil Feild Trip to the Marina... Tickets for adults is only 5$ it's worth it!

Fantastic experience: Cool marine center. Nice hands-on tidepool for the kids. Amazing animal skeletons upstairs.

Fantastic experience: Very nice Marine Life center in downtown Charleston. Lots of live exhibits on the ground floor and interesting historical exhibits upstairs. Worth the time to visit

Fantastic experience: What a gem! Learned alot! Great exhibits well put together!

Fantastic experience: $5 for adults and kids are free. Spent so much time learning about all the sea life! Such a beautiful location too with a view of the marina!

Fantastic experience: Super cute hidden gem in Charleston! The layout flows well, and is very interactive, and the staff were so welcoming and informative about the sea creatures and specimens on display! I love that the critters get water directly from the ocean, so they get to have a natural food source and living conditions. There were even some sea creatures I have not seen before and I've lived on the coast nearly my whole life! Definitely a must see, whether living locally or coming from out of town!

Fantastic experience: If you ever wondered if giant squid really exist? They have one on display,I have personally cought a 15 ft long giant squid,about 550 pounds.the sperm whales favorite food

Fantastic experience: Great interactive museum for the kids

Fantastic experience: Such a fun experience! I'm a total sucker for marine biology facts and this place was loaded!! So much cool info, cool specimens, and cool bones! Admission is cheap and I would highly recommend the experience!

Fantastic experience: What an awesome little place right on the harbor. Free flow water feed for the marine life they have. So cool that they circulate the water from the bay and they have some amazing creatures you might not see elsewhere. The Sunflower sea star which was endangered and a very cool eel. So much to learn and very inexpensive! Highly recommend!

Fantastic experience: Made a stop before heading out to see the lights at Shore Acres!

Fantastic experience: Fun U of O Marine life center. Touch and feel sharks jaws. Learn about our Pacific Ocean.

Positive experience: A working marine biology training center is directly across the street! The public side of it is very heavy on the educational. All be it, a bit on the dry side. But still a nice place to visit and learn more about that big blue wobbly thing . That covers 2/3 out planet!

Fantastic experience: Kids had a blast. A plethora of marine life to look, touch, and learn.

Fantastic experience: Amazing place students get in free adults pay 5$ amazing fish and has 2 storys and a touch pool!! I personally love this place it has an amazing view aswell

Fantastic experience: Learn and see at your own pace, plus people around to answer questions. Plus, it's only $5 for adults. From the second story, we got to watch a boat unloading shrimp/prawns

Fantastic experience: Wonderful and very informative museum regarding the local area. The staff are very kind and have so much information to share. I highly recommend a visit!

Fantastic experience: Great place, kinda hidden, but really fun for the kids.

Fantastic experience: This place is great for kids. The downstairs is the best. You can touch things the kids love it!! All worth $5

Fantastic experience: Amazing place for its size. Packed full of exhibits and information. Multiple tanks with fresh sea water circulation and packed full of varied sea life: octopus, giant sea stars anemones, strange fish, corals, crabs etc. whale skeletons and skulls, baleen, on display as well as a touch tank lots more. You can watch fisherman off loading the catch of the day. Really great for kids.

Fantastic experience: A great little aquarium. Well worth the $5!

Fantastic experience: Very much worth the price. My kid loved it.

Fantastic experience: Such a fun place to visit! $5 for adults and FREE for students! My husband is a college student and got in for free! You can be from an out of state college :) There was honestly so much to look at for the price. I bought the crochet stingray keychain at the front desk for $5 as well. Staff and volunteers were very nice and informative. Very affordable, fun for adults & families. Would recommend!

Fantastic experience: Great place to visit, friendly and knowledgeable staff there to answer questions. Cost of admission was only $5, but take a jacket as it's chilly inside.

Fantastic experience: Small, nice, and informative. The best part was watching a shrimp boat unloading from an upstairs windows. It is definitely the most comprehensive crab information I've seen. I saw some species I've never heard of.

Positive experience: It's a cool place to stop and learn about the marine life along the Oregon coast. It has a lot of displays and information packed in a small place and is great for kids.. definitely recommend stopping by and checking it out for yourself if you're interested in marine life and the Oregon coast..

Fantastic experience: Very nice museum, with a number of interesting live and static exhibits.

Fantastic experience: I was worried my teenagers would think this place was "lame" and we almost didn't go. I'm so glad we went. This was honestly one of their favorite things we did. Tons of cool interactive exhibits, friendly volunteers. A giant squid on display! Go, you won't regret it.

Fantastic experience: The best marine life museum I think I’ve ever been to! So many ways to engage at the museum, touch tanks, fossils, informational signs. It’s a must see!!

Fantastic experience: Excellent exhibits in a chill environment. Perfect place to go before exploring the rugged coast. Friendly and knowledgeable staff.

Positive experience: Awesome, little place that's much bigger than it seems from outside. Half educational, half marine life with several people helping explain everything. There's a huge collection of local specimens that you can handle, if you're interested.

Fantastic experience: Interesting and enjoyable visit, always. Far exceeds the caliber of attraction one might expect in a small town setting.

Fantastic experience: Love love love this museum and OIMB!!!

Positive experience: Fun place to spend a half hour or so with the family. Some love animals, some museum.

Fantastic experience: Charleston Marine Life Center in coastal Oregon. Very affordable, check hours online before visiting. We visited after moving to Oregon 10 mos ago when family from the Midwest came to stay a week with us. Really welcoming & wise volunteers & support staff managing this facility. Donations are accepted. Clean place, museum artifacts & added sights are on the upper level. Deck area outdoors with good view of the docked boats.

Fantastic experience: Very nice marine center. Informed staff were very friendly. Interesting exhibits and marine life. Nice marina views. Hands on fun as well.

Fantastic experience: So many cool things here! You are getting a front row seat of the amazing life that the ocean has to offer. Price is reasonable. Sweatshirts are comfy and soft. The man volunteering his time was knowledgeable and friendly. Definitely worth the time.

Fantastic experience: Friendly volunteers and interesting info! Watching the octopus getting fed, as it opens the jar to eat-quite a trick

Fantastic experience: This place is packed to the gills with informative and well maintained displays. Kids under twelve get free entry. Our kids loved it.

Fantastic experience: We learned a lot about the Oregon marine ecosystem. Very educational and hands on. Beware of the urchins...

Fantastic experience: The volunteers are super sweet and my son loved his hand hugs from the urchins.

Fantastic experience: It was awesome. A great time for five bucks

Fantastic experience: Great place to learn about the sea creatures around oregon. Didn't know the wolf eel was local. wicked.

Fantastic experience: Super cool little marine life place lots of cool things to check out! Loved the jelly fish tank and how it shows what they look like washed up on shore! The whole family loved the wolf ears too super cool!

Fantastic experience: Box Crab, Urchin doing ??, Blue Crawfish

Fantastic experience: Really fun to visit. The volunteers are really nice and full of knowledge. Check it out

Fantastic experience: We got to touch some of the sea creatures, and it was very fun and interesting.

Fantastic experience: A great stop for the whole family. My 4.5 year old is still talking about it.

Fantastic experience: When I was there they had an octopus named CJ who had just killed his cellmate and was going to be released the next day. I didn't think it usually works like that, but power to em.

Positive experience: Interesting little museum with exhibits, displays and interactive attractions. $5 per adult. Check it out!

Fantastic experience: Very fun! It's so cool to see these creatures in person.

Fantastic experience: A wonderful place to visit if you live all things ocean. The six and eight year olds with us had the best time of the vacation. They loved the touch pools and the jelly tank the best.

Fantastic experience: This place is awesome tons of animals to see and actually touch!

Fantastic experience: This is a fascinating gem for all ages, especially children to be exposed to marine life of the Oregon coast! It’s small but well laid out with plenty of interesting exhibits and knowledge helpful staff to answer any of your questions. Worth the visit!

Fantastic experience: Wow, I can't believe I didn't know this place existed for so many years! Incredibly cheaper option for a family than Newport Aquarium. No, they don't have giant fish tanks with sharks, but still have very nice displays. So much is in this not so big place! Much more science-based and interactive, extensive selection of natural objects that you can touch. A nice small touch tank with live critters, loved the full orca skeleton!

Fantastic experience: Lovely little aquarium, super nice volunteers and tons of interesting stuff! Also only $5!!

Fantastic experience: The staff were super friendly, great information panels and lively tanks.

Fantastic experience: Great museum for the whole family! My kids 8 and 3 love this little place! Kids get in free and adults are $5! The volunteers are full of knowledge! Should stop here and watch them bring in all the crabs from the bay!

Fantastic experience: My daughter got to feed the abalone and sea cucumbers. We spent a few hours there and will be back!

Fantastic experience: A very interesting and educational walk through for the whole family. It's well curated and staff was very informative and friendly. I 10/10 would recommend you visit this little museum!

Fantastic experience: The Charleston Marine Life Center is a fantastic destination for anyone interested in learning about the incredible diversity of marine life found along the Oregon coast. The center boasts a variety of exhibits, including interactive displays, touch tanks, and live animal habitats that showcase the beauty and importance of the ocean ecosystem. The knowledgeable staff are passionate about marine conservation and are always eager to share their expertise with visitors. The center is clean, well-organized, and accessible to all ages and abilities. Overall, the Charleston Marine Life Center is a must-see attraction for anyone visiting the Oregon coast.

Fantastic experience: Awesome! Place to take the kids. It's a lot bigger inside. They have a title pull where you can touch the animals. All sorts of different exhibits to check out.

Fantastic experience: This is a super fun place to take the family. There is so much packed into this place and so much fun for the kids. The staff is so wonderful and very informative as well. There's touch tanks for the kids and so many cool sea creatures. It's very inexpensive and I highly reccomend!

Fantastic experience: We enjoyed the experience, learned alot about the different marine life that is here in oregon and we will go back to view more.

Fantastic experience: I loved ALL the displays and wonderful staff!

Fantastic experience: great place to take the kids! lots of interactive activities.

Fantastic experience: Wow what a find. It's so nice inside. Tons to learn with some of the neatest variety of life. Very kind helpful staff as well.

Fantastic experience: Awsome little gem . Mini aquarium and museum of local aquatic life. You can even observe some humans....lol View of the harbor. For a minimal fee verry minimal in these times.

Fantastic experience: Very friendly staff and everything was hands on so my grandson got to explore everything !

Fantastic experience: Such a great educational and fun experience! I didn't want to leave. Small but so much to see, do and read about. I can't wait to visit again. The staff were helpful and kind. It was a great time for my 7 year old and myself.

Fantastic experience: Very interactive. My 9yr old was squealing being able to touch the starfish and other animals. Had great workers that would tell you stories about the animals. AAA+ for a place to visit.

Fantastic experience: Very nice displays, staff and animals. Informative and interesting for all ages. Large whale bone specimens to beautiful, tiny, live jellyfish and much more. Perfect size museum to pass an hour or two in.

Fantastic experience: Great place for kids and adults to learn about see and touch marine life . I will go back there is to much to see in 1 trip.

Fantastic experience: This was a huge surprise! We expected a tiny little exhibit, but it was amazing. So many great displays, hands on, super interesting, fun and informative for all ages. We were there for 2 hours, but could have stayed for 2 more and still not discovered all there was to see. We will be back!

Fantastic experience: A hidden gem in Coos Bay! We actually happened to see it on the map after our hike to the Coos Head railroad tunnel. Excellent staff who took the time to answer questions - they take pride in their work. The facility while small in comparison to Monterey Bay Aquarium, is actually a whole lot better IMO. They have tide pool exhibits where you can touch sea life and I actually was able to feed sea urchins. The shell exhibit upstairs was awesome. You can pull out the drawers and see tons of shells from all over the world, they have skeletons of sea mammals, and you can watch whales and seals from afar along the shoreline. Nicely done. Very fun and inexpensive activity for the whole family to enjoy.

Fantastic experience: You have to check this place out if you like marine life! The variety of animals was absolutely phenomenal. The displays were all thorough and informative, lots of interactive stuff. Just truly an incredible amount to look at in such a small space. I've been into reef tanks well over a decade and I'm usually disappointed by public displays. Not this one! Great job researchers! A true gem.

Fantastic experience: Incredible facility teeming with knowledge about local marine life. Many exhibits in the small building. Extremely friendly staff.

Fantastic experience: The volunteers are so friendly, knowledgeable, and inviting! They make each visit truly memorable. My grandsons were able to see the octopus being fed, and got to feed the sea urchins. They loved examining items under the microscope, and watching the workers unloading a shrimp catch off one of the fishing boats. We always enjoy visiting CMLC when they come for vacation from Denver. It truly is a local treasure.

Fantastic experience: This museum is a rare gem. The price of admission ($5) is a huge bargain (having come from Portland where everything was $20). So many marine specimens. Wonderful use of screens/technology interfaced with exhibits. Everything marine from whales to snails. This is a very professionally produced museum. Lots of interactive and live displays for the kids too.

Fantastic experience: Great place to stop by with family! Lots of sea life and fun things to see.

Fantastic experience: Awesome place. Beautiful aquariums, extremely helpful and attentive personnel, tide pool petting, informative and interesting exhibits.

Fantastic experience: This was an amazing experience. There was so much to touch and feel with great staff to help explain and interact with the wildlife and artifacts.

Fantastic experience: Enjoyed checking out the interesting marine life found along the Oregon coast. Definitely a place to check out on a windy/ rainy day. Volunteers there were very informative and very willing to answer any questions.

Fantastic experience: Pretty cool museum!! Very impressive array of marine wildlife, some you may even touch. Very helpful & courteous staff as well. The view of the marina from upstairs is definitely picturesque.

Fantastic experience: Very cool...looking forward to going back when I can spend more time enjoying the exhibits

Fantastic experience: we love to take our kids to this very cool and sometimes living museum of sea life

Fantastic experience: Cool little place!! Worth the $5, staff is friendly & knowledgeable. Displays are interesting also