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October 2023 by Gerald Owens
Be aware that there are only two dolphin & sea lion shows per day. Got there at 11:45 and would have had to wait 2 hours to see the afternoon shows, when it only takes 30 minutes to see the rest of it. Bird exhibit was just a bunch of parakeets. You can see that in Petsmart. Could not see dolphins or sea lions except at shows. A complete waste.
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September 2023 by Maegan Richard
We visited in July and my son with special needs was treated amazing by staff. He did the dolphin encounter with Ellie and she went above and beyond for him. Everyone did, down to the employee who walked us there! Thanks to Mr. Moby for getting Cade here and seeing and nurturing his love for marine life!
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August 2023 by Melissa Davis
This was the 2nd time were at the Marine Institute. My daughter's Stingray Swim was a great experience! Matt, the worker that was instructing my daughter was amazing. It happened that she was the only one doing this experience at our time slot, so it was very personal.Matt was very personable, friendly, and knowledgeable. Took the time to answer any questions we had.The experience feeding the rays and sharks was great! My daughter had a fantastic time and wants to eventually do the dolphin encounter (wanted to do that today, but the time we wanted was full).We also fed the parakeets. So fun. Had 4 land on us at a time.The only downside was we paid extra to be a "spectator" during our daughter's experience. It felt pointless when other guests came into ray pool area during her experience. I feel we would've have had to pay extra (other than we wouldn't have gotten to get first hand explanation of the rays and sharks).Overall, it was an amazing day. ?
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August 2023 by ox4dkelly
This is a bit smaller scale than I was expecting (perfect for kids), but the informative talks are quite well done! I really liked that the talks were scheduled to flow from one to the next! Staff appear dedicated and seem to genuinely enjoy what they do!
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July 2023 by Z4658HUamyp
Thoroughly enjoyed swimming with the stingrays and sharks. The instructor was extremely knowledgeable to her audience. She made them feel at ease and even knew each swim animals' names. So impressive. I enjoyed it immensely.
Thank you for taking carving out time for us to enjoy this activity from your busy schedule.
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July 2023 by John D
This is a wonderful place to spend a couple of hours with the family. Our granddaughter fed and got kissed by a dolphin, we enjoyed a dolphin and a California sea lion show and we spent time with hundreds of parakeets. All in all a special day.
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July 2023 by Kory Haas
My mother and I visited here from Kentucky. We did the sea lion kiss and dolphin encounter. The staff were very friendly. You could see their compassion with helping the mammals. We loved every bit of our visit!
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June 2023 by TravelingMomGrandma
We spent 5 hrs here!! We also bought the “in the water with dolphin” passes for10 yr old twins. Due to thunderstorms, our time slot was moved 2 hrs later.
Shows: They are made to be educational instead of entertaining
Discovery Room: My 10 yr olds enjoyed this room (saw it twice)
Food: pizza were good at $9
Bird stick of food: Overpriced
Being in the water with the dolphin: expensive but the girls will always remember it.
Bathroom: clean
Staff: nice
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May 2023 by darlene parker
I wish this could have been a better experience but it wasn't. We paid for the an experience that wasn't provided. When I asked about the train ride tour ( that my family waited an hour for) I was told it runs sometimes but weren't you given a map of the facility. The map was very vague. And the Supervisor/ Manager Amanda is not a people person; she should not work with the public. I know to go back to where people get paid to do their jobs at the Mississippi Aquarium. The people here must only be volunteers because we were given misinformation for one event, three different times. I would not recommend the food either. My burger was hot and cold at the same time. I tried to save money and I see you get what you pay for. I had to apologize to my family for a bad experience.
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May 2023 by Stephanie Walster
One of the best aquariums we have visited. Extremely memorable and lots of interaction!
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April 2023 by Angela Schultz
2nd time there. This time my child's field trip. Amazing experience overall. Only COMPLAINT is the Gift shop employees are Rude and unfriendly! Sierra was the rude employee this time. All other employees were outstanding!
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April 2023 by Rogue_Traveler781
Maybe we did it wrong, but we just bought the pass that didn’t have any swimming with rays and dolphins. Maybe it would have been better if that was included, but their basic plan is not worth it. The “park” is a very small and barren midway between the different exhibits. There was a dolphin show which was pretty cool, but that’s where it peaked. The sea lion show was pretty uninspired but it kept my attention for a little bit. By the time we got to the manta rays, we were the only two people left in the park. The manta guy was nice, but you could tell everyone just wanted to go home early. We tried to go to the bird show, but we waited five minutes past the scheduled time and no one showed up. Even if everything had gone according to plan, I think it still would have been mediocre. At least the money helps the animals
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March 2023 by Lucy Mwanzia
Great family experience! Dolphins, sea lions, stingrays, fish, and birds. We purchased a dolphin meet and great which included general admission. Highly recommend you learn so much about the animal rescue. All shows were informative. Hidden gem.
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March 2023 by Leslie Dawes
Went here on a field trip with 6 yr Olds. They absolutely loved it!! I love how almost everything was included in the cost. The kids were upset they couldn't dig for shark teeth though.
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September 2022 by Zach Katzenmeyer
My wife and two little girls (4 and 2 years old) visited IMMS last weekend and highly recommend it to anyone traveling through the Gulfport area. It is truly a hidden gem in the state of Mississippi. We experienced feeding birds in an interactive aviary, a dolphin and sea lion show that was very educational, touched stingrays-also very educational (with help from very enthusiastic interns), and toured the museum. The turtle cafe offers ice cream and treats for the kids, and of course the gift shop has tons of stuff your kids will want! Overall, can’t believe I have never been and will be back any time I am on the MS Coast. Cheers!
