The Aquarium's New Penguin Gallery Opens to Monterey Members a Week Before the Public

Monterey Bay Aquarium's new gallery, "Ocean in Motion / La Danza del Mar," opens to the public on Saturday, November 7. For anyone in Monterey with a membership card, it opens this Saturday, October 31. The quietest days in the new space will probably come between Saturday, October 31, and Tuesday, November 3, before the public opening and before a race weekend that ends with Cannery Row-area streets closed on Sunday morning.

The gallery is built for children ages two to six, though the aquarium says it welcomes visitors of all ages. If you have a toddler, a preschooler or grandchildren visiting for the holidays, these dates are worth planning around.

The preview week, day by day

The aquarium has set aside a run of preview sessions for members and donors. The first was a Packards' Circle morning reception on October 24. The rest of the schedule runs from Friday, October 30, through Tuesday, November 3.

The process is simple. You come in through the aquarium's Main Entrance, then show your member card and a photo ID at the gallery entry. Guest cards are honored, so a member household can bring visiting family along on a preview day. The aquarium's visitor FAQ says members don't need reservations.

Two of these slots are worth a closer look. The adults-only hour on Sunday, November 1, is the only scheduled time to see a gallery designed for preschoolers without preschoolers in it. If you want to watch the penguins and seahorses at your own pace, that's the session. The member preview on Saturday, October 31, runs until 5 p.m. Halloween on the Wharf starts at 4 p.m. that afternoon at 201 Washington St. and runs until 7 p.m. A family in costume could see the gallery after lunch and get to the free trick-or-treating at Old Fisherman's Wharf in the same afternoon.

What the toddlers will be copying

The aquarium describes the whole gallery around one idea. Children copy the way an animal moves, and through that they start to care about it. CEO Jenny Gray put it this way in the aquarium's September 8 announcement: "we've selected endearing animals that move in fun ways." So each animal comes with a movement to copy:

• Big-belly seahorses live in clusters of oversized seagrass towers. Children are invited to hold on to the towers before they reach a living exhibit where dozens of seahorses wrap their tails around green strands.
• Leaping blennies come with shapes on the floor that cue kids to hop from rock to rock. Then comes an open-top exhibit at eye level, where water washes over wet stones and the fish leap and flop across them.
• A 20-foot coral reef, one of the largest single exhibits in the gallery, holds bluespotted ribbontail rays and clownfish, with a wave rippling through the water. Next to it is a coral-themed play area, and its main path is fully accessible.
• Flamboyant cuttlefish move across the seafloor with flashes of yellow, purple and white across their bodies.
• African penguins are the centerpiece, in a much larger habitat with a rocky beach and diving water. Digital silhouettes beside it invite children to waddle, flap and shake their tails.

The labels are written like a children's book, with the animals as the main characters, so a caregiver can read them aloud. The gallery is bilingual in both its name and its design, which KSBW noted when it covered the planned opening.

Longtime members will want to know what used to be in this space. Hoodline reports that the new gallery replaces the aquarium's long-running Splash Zone. Hoodline also notes that the gallery opens under Gray, who became CEO in May after Julie Packard's four decades leading the aquarium.

Opening Saturday, then a half marathon Sunday

Saturday, November 7, is a busy day on the waterfront. It's the public opening and the first day of Monterey Bay Half Marathon weekend. Old Fisherman's Wharf has a free "Wharf Walks – Whaling Stories" tour from 10 a.m. to noon that morning. A family could do the tour and see the new gallery the same day, but the aquarium will be drawing first-day crowds from well beyond Monterey County.

Sunday is the harder day. The race starts at 7 a.m. on Del Monte near Camino El Estero, and the course follows Cannery Row and the Pacific Grove shoreline. The Big Sur Marathon Foundation's 2026 letter to Monterey residents covers these Sunday, November 8, details:

1. The whole course is posted no parking and tow-away from 2 a.m. to 11 a.m. Signs go up at least 48 hours ahead.
2. Westbound Del Monte from Figueroa to the Custom House Tunnel closes from 5:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. During that time, the only routes into New Monterey and Pacific Grove are Highway 1 and Holman Highway, Route 68.
3. The south bore of the tunnel into Monterey closes from 6:15 a.m. to 8:45 a.m.
4. Southbound Lighthouse Avenue and the Pacific Street connector into downtown stay open all day.

The same letter lists closures on the streets around Cannery Row through late morning. It says city streets and the Coastal Trail will be cleared by 11 a.m. If you're planning a Sunday visit, an afternoon arrival avoids the whole morning. If you have a toddler who's at their best before nap time, the member preview mornings from November 1 through 3 are the easier choice.

What a visit costs once previews end

Here's the current adult price on the aquarium's ticket page, along with the other categories:

The gallery is designed for ages two to six, and children four and under get in free. So much of the gallery's intended audience pays nothing, and the cost of a visit falls mostly on the adults bringing them. Two parents with a three-year-old would pay $130 at the gate. Two grandparents over 70 bringing a four-year-old would pay $100. The aquarium recommends buying general admission tickets in advance.

Monterey County residents may remember this fall's local free-admission promotion. It ran September 8 through 20, two months before this gallery opened, and the aquarium's page now says it has ended. The year-round option is Museums for All. An adult who receives SNAP or CalFresh benefits gets free admission for themselves and up to three guests by showing a valid EBT card and a matching photo ID at the Main Entrance. These tickets aren't sold online. The aquarium's FAQ says it doesn't offer general discounts beyond programs like this. For a household that plans to come back to the penguins more than once a season, a membership also covers the preview week.

A November along the waterfront

The new gallery opens at the start of a full month on Monterey's waterfront. The Monterey Herald previewed the opening in September, and families who wait until after race weekend can visit with general admission tickets. The week after, Monterey's Día de Muertos celebration comes to the Wharf November 13 through 15, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. It includes Aztec dance and community altar building. A Saturday that starts with the penguins on Cannery Row can end at the Wharf, two venues on the same stretch of shoreline.

If you'd like to watch from home before your first visit, the aquarium runs live Penguin and Coral Reef cams. They're an easy way to show a young child the animals before they meet them in person.

At Scherling Properties, we love seeing the peninsula's familiar places find new ways to welcome families. If grandchildren are coming for the holidays and you'd like ideas for a Monterey weekend built around the new penguin gallery, Stacey is always happy to share what she knows. Let's Connect.