Birthday Parties

Children watch ornate uromastyx in its transport habitat at a birthday party.

Celebrate your child's birthday with a chance to experience the Aquarium in a new way! Enjoy an ocean-themed program and the opportunity to get up close with some amazing creatures with an Aquarium educator. Please Note: parties may be booked no more than 3 months in advance.

What's Included?

During the first hour of your party, an Aquarium educator will guide your birthday child and party guests through fun ocean-themed activities such as games, crafts, biofacts, and getting up close and personal with one of our Animal Ambassadors.* For the second half of your party, we’ll let you celebrate your guest of honor and optionally enjoy refreshments from our catering service. You will have access to a private space that can accommodate up to 25 attendees (including the birthday child, family members, and parents of the guests) and admission to the Aquarium for your entire party.

*While we cannot guarantee the ability to meet specific Animal Ambassadors, we can make a note of your preferences!

Pricing and Details

  • Pricing: $349 (Members $299)

  • Ages: 2-10

  • Days: Saturdays and Sundays from September through mid-June.

  • Please Note: parties may be booked no more than 3 months in advance. We are currently booking October through January birthday events.

  • Times: 10:00am-12:00pm or 1:30pm-3:30pm

Fill Out a Party Request Form

Themes

Ocean in Motion

North Building Classroom

Crawl like a crab, wiggle like an eel, and glide like a ray! We’ll celebrate your little one’s big day as we get on our feet and learn more about the amazing animals found in the ocean and how they move. Oh, and we’ll have a lot of fun, too!

Mini Vet

South Building Discovery Room

Celebrate your child’s birthday while having a blast learning about animal care through fun, hands-on activities. Kids can become vets for the day as they meet aquarium animals up close, and help take care of plush creatures, diagnosing and treating them through interactive play.

Fintastic Sharks

North Building Classroom

Let’s dive into the world of sharks together! We’ll explore all things sharks through games, activities and investigating biofacts- including real shark teeth! This is the perfect birthday party theme for shark lovers, future scientists, and fans of the ocean!

Sea Turtle Shell-a-bration

North Building Classroom

Come learn what it’s like being a Sea Turtle! In this birthday party theme, we’ll explore the life of a Sea Turtle from being a tiny baby hatchling to migrating far and wide and even returning to the beach to lay its own eggs. We’ll learn through fun interactive activities and games as well as checking out awesome bio facts.

Scales, Tails, and Slime

North Building Classroom

This birthday party theme is all about animals with scales, tails, and slime! Tomistomas, Komodos, Salamanders, and Snakes, oh my! During this short program, we’ll learn a little more about our scaly and slimy friends with fun facts, bio-facts, activities, and games that get us moving like a reptile.

Superpowers

South Building Discovery Room

Step into a world of underwater superpowers as we celebrate with a wild theme of aquatic creatures with extraordinary abilities. From the speed of a mantis shrimp punch to the camouflage of a cuttlefish, everyone will discover their own "animal power" through interactive activities.

Behind the Scenes Tours

To participate in these tours, guests must meet the following requirements:

  • Participants must be at least 8 years old.
  • Participants must be at least 48 inches tall.
  • Phones, cameras, and other loose articles are NOT permitted on the tours.

Sea Turtle Behind the Scenes

North Building Classroom

Do you love sea turtles and want to learn more about what it’s like taking care of them here at the Virginia Aquarium? If so, this is the perfect birthday party for you! We’ll head behind the scenes for the first portion of your party to see how our aquarium runs and how our sea turtles are taken care of.

Sharks Behind the Scenes

North Building Classroom

Experience our sharks like never before with this awesome birthday party experience! We’ll head behind the scenes and go above our shark exhibit where you’ll be able to enjoy our sharks from a new perspective and learn more about how we care for them!

Participants must be able to navigate stairs for Sharks Behind the Scenes.

Order Catering With Your Birthday Party!

We offer catering for birthday parties through our partners at Gourmet Gang.

Order Birthday Catering

Frequently Asked Questions

A birthday party package includes:

  • 1 hour of programming with an educator
  • An Animal Ambassador meet and greet
  • 1 hour of classroom use for celebratory purposes
  • Admission to the Virginia Aquarium for birthday party guests (only 25 hand stamps are provided)
  • Parking fees for guests (Note: the birthday celebrant will receive a parking validation)
  • Food
  • Paper products (Note: can be ordered through Catering )
  • Decorations other than tablecloths, which are provided
  • Guided tours

Unfortunately, our classroom is not able to accommodate more than 25 individuals for safety and comfort reasons. “25 individuals” includes the birthday child, family members, and all party guests.

If you have friends or family who wish to join you outside of the birthday party, they may purchase general admission at the front desk.

If you want a celebration that features more than 25 guests, please consider a full facility rental which would allow for additional guests.

A request form must be submitted and full payment is required to reserve a particular date and time. The price is $349 for non-Members and $299 for Members. Reservations are first come, first serve.

You are welcome to bring a birthday dessert, such as cake or cupcakes. All other food and beverages must be ordered through our caterer .

Specific program questions can be answered by our educators. Please feel free to call (757) 385-3474 and ask for extension 0339.

In alignment with our mission to protect our marine environment, balloons, piñatas, and confetti are not permitted. While we do have lightweight hooks for small banners, we do not permit taping or hanging of decorations on our painted walls.

When submitting a birthday party request form, please indicate your top three choices from the list provided. The day of the party, we select one animal from the list based on their demeanor. We cannot guarantee a specific animal.

Have Questions?

Contact our Birthday Party Coordinator at (757) 385-0339 or via email.

Email Birthday Party Coordinator