Birthday Parties
Host your child's next birthday with us! A celebration at the Virginia Aquarium is memorable for all your guests.
Celebrate With Us!
Celebrate your child's birthday with memorable ocean fun, and 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 experienced Aquarium educator.
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.
Pricing and Details
Pricing: $299 (Members $249)
Age: 2 – 10
Days: Saturdays and Sundays
Times: 10:00am to 12:00pm or 2:00pm to 4:00pm
*While we cannot guarantee the ability to meet specific Animal Ambassadors, we can make a note of your preferences!
Themes
Ocean in Motion
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!
Fintastic Sharks
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
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 their own eggs. We’ll learn through fun interactive activities and games as well as checking out awesome bio facts.
Scales, Tails, and Slime
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.
Sea Turtle Behind the Scenes
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
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.
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 wristbands are provided)
- Food
- Decorations (Tablecloths 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 that wish to join you outside of the birthday party, they may purchase general admission at the front desk.
If you wanted a celebration that features more than 25 guests, please consider a facility rental which would allow for additional guests.
A full payment is required to reserve a particular date and time. Price is $299 for non-members and $249 for members. Reservations are first come, first serve. You may either use the form at the button above to fill out a party request form, or call Guest Services at (757) 385-0277 to make your reservation.
Specific program questions can be answered by our educators. Please feel free to call 757-385-3474 and ask for extension 0278.
In alignment with our mission to protect our marine environment, balloons are not permitted. Any decorations that need to be attached to the wall or hung are also not permitted on any of our painted walls.