National Sea Life Centre Birmingham for families

The National Sea Life Centre Birmingham is a large, kid-friendly aquarium with sea otters, penguins and turtles – plus a shark-surrounded 360 degree walk-through tunnel.

Why visit the National Sea Life Centre Birmingham

Birmingham is, frankly, a strange place to have a National Sea Life Centre. It’s about as far from the coast as you can get in Britain. Nevertheless, here it is.

This Birmingham Aquarium is part of the Sea Life chain and is one of the biggest aquariums in the UK. The walk-through route connects several themed zones that range from the fairly dull – the rockpool with sea urchins, sea stars and anemones – to guaranteed crowd-pleasers. The Penguin Ice Adventure, where you can watch penguins waddle on land then swim underwater falls into the latter category.

The National Sea Life Centre Birmingham is undeniably well put together, and there’s an educational factor, too. Adults will end up learning plenty about the jellyfish, turtles, seahorses and more that are housed within this inner city aquarium.

The Ocean Tunnel in the National Sea Life Centre Birmingham.

Visiting the National Sea Life Centre Birmingham with children

If you need just one reason to visit the National Sea Life Centre Birmingham, it’s to see the reaction from a six-year-old when she sees a stingray’s face, smiling at her.

There are several moments like this. For younger children, it’ll be the visual impact of seeing the sea creatures up close. For older children, it’s often the facts about the animals they’re seeing. Male sea otters eating 11kg of food per day; jellyfish being older than the dinosaurs – that kind of thing.

The key thing about how the National Sea Life Centre Birmingham is presented is that it never becomes a trudge to go around. There’s always something worth looking at and learning – and this Birmingham aquarium feels a lot bigger than it is as a result.

National Sea Life Centre Birmingham review: The best bit

The obvious highlight of the National Sea Life Centre Birmingham is the Ocean Tunnel, which you walk through surrounded by water in all directions. Rays, massive green turtles and black tip reef sharks swim all around you as you shuffle through, gawping at the ocean scene playing out 360 degrees around you.

Infants, juniors or secondary?

Most children will enjoy the National Sea Life Centre Birmingham in some way, although it’s probably best suited to sparking that joyous sense of wonder in infant and junior age kids.

National Sea Life Centre Birmingham entry prices

If booking through Viator, off peak tickets for the National Sea Life Centre Birmingham cost from £22.50. I receive a small commission if you book using this link.

Going via the Sea Life site can be cheaper – sometimes as low as £18 – but sometimes more expensive (from around £25). Anytime entry tickets cost £30, so you’re better off booking a specific timeslot.

Prices were last checked and updated on 14 October 2024.

Full day, half day or a couple of hours?

A visit to the National Sea Life Centre Birmingham will probably take most people two to three hours. Stretching it to longer than that is tricky due to the fairly defined route you have to follow.

Attractions near the National Sea Life Centre Birmingham

You can combine the National Sea Life Centre Birmingham with a visit to other nearby attractions, such as…

The ThinkTank Science Museum.
Cadbury World in Bourneville.
The Legoland Discovery Centre in Birmingham.

Nearby cities

The National Sea Life Centre Birmingham is in central Birmingham.

Other cities within a 90 minute drive of the National Sea Life Centre Birmingham include Hereford, Worcester, Gloucester, Stoke-on-Trent, Nottingham, Derby, Coventry, Leicester, Lichfield and Milton Keynes.

Is it open on Mondays?

The National Sea Life Centre Birmingham is open daily, but can get rather crowded on school holidays and weekends. This makes a teacher training day that falls on a Monday a near perfect time to visit.