The 21,000 sq. ft. Frank Gehry-designed
original facility houses the largest collection of Southern California marine life on display in the world, an outdoor tidepool touch tank, teaching laboratory, auditorium, research lab and gift shop. In 2004, a major building expansion nearly doubled the Aquarium's size, adding the
Exploration Center and the
Aquatic Nursery as well as a new 3,000 sq. ft.
Virginia Reid Moore Marine Research Library and the S. Mark Taper Courtyard.