Sea Life Park Hawaii is a

marine mammal Marine mammals are mammals that rely on marine ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians, sea otters and polar bears. They are an informal group, unified only by their reliance on marine enviro ...

park,

bird sanctuary An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and to be protected for the rest of their lives. In addition, sanctuaries are an experimental staging ground for transformative human–animal relations. There are five types of ...

and

aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

in Waimānalo near Makapuʻu Point, north of Hanauma Bay on the island of

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The park first opened in 1964 and in early 2025, the park was sold to Herschend Family Entertainment.

Exhibits and facilities

Dolphin Lagoon is the venue for the main Aloha Naia show times daily at 12:30 and 3:30pm. The Penguin Habitat is home to the park's penguins, which are part of the

Association of Zoos and Aquariums The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), originally the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums (AAZPA), is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1924 and dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aqu ...

Species Survival Plan The American Species Survival Plan or SSP program was developed in 1981 by the (American) Association of Zoos and Aquariums to help ensure the survival of selected species in zoos and aquariums, most of which are threatened or endangered in the w ...

for the

Humboldt penguin The Humboldt penguin (''Spheniscus humboldti'') is a medium-sized penguin. It resides in South America, along the Pacific coast of Peru and Chile. Its nearest relatives are the African penguin, the Magellanic penguin and the Galápagos penguin. ...

. Visitors to the park have the opportunity for up-close animal encounters daily, including Dolphin Encounters, Sea Lion Encounters, and the Hawaiian Reef Encounters. The Bird Sanctuary is home to many wild marine birds including "iwa" (

great frigatebird The great frigatebird (''Fregata minor'') is a large seabird in the frigatebird family (biology), family. There are major nesting populations in the tropical Pacific Ocean, such as Hawaii and the Galápagos Islands; in the Indian Ocean, colonies ...

s), boobies,

shearwater Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds in the petrel family Procellariidae. They have a global marine distribution, but are most common in temperate and cold waters, and are pelagic outside the breeding season. Description These tube ...

s, and

albatross Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Paci ...

es, most of which came to the sanctuary sick or injured. Visitors can see how these birds are cared for and rehabilitated. Daily Educational Talk Times May Vary by Day, but generally follow this schedule (as of 6.15.24): * 10:15am Honu (Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle) Feeding & Talk Story * 11:00am Meet Kekoa! Hawaiian Monk Seal Talk Story * 11:15am Humboldt Penguins Talk Story * 11:45am Sea Lion Talk Story * 12:30pm Aloa Nai'a (Dolphin) Presentation * 2:00pm Shark Feeding @ Shark Cave * 3:30pm Aloha Nai'a (Dolphin) Presentation * 4:00pm Park Closes

Activities

Sea Life Park Hawaii includes several programs that let visitors interact directly with the animals in the water. All programs are run several times daily.
''Conservation'' Sea Life Park Hawaii is active in several conservation areas, including the release of adolescent green sea turtles that were hatched and raised at the park. To date, the park has actively release upwards of 17,000+ Hawaiian green sea turtles (Honu) around the Hawaiian Islands.

In popular culture

The park was used as a setting and featured in the 2004 film ''

50 First Dates ''50 First Dates'' is a 2004 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Segal and starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, with Rob Schneider, Sean Astin, Lusia Strus, Blake Clark, and Dan Aykroyd in supporting roles. It follows the st ...

''.

Gallery

View from Makapuu Point, Oahu, Hawaii - panoramio.jpg, Sea Life Park Dolphins Sea Life Park 2009.JPG, Dolphins at the park Sea Life Park Hawaii.jpg, Sea Life Park Penguin (3696475161).jpg, Penguin Baby wolphin by pinhole.jpeg, Baby wolphin.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1964 establishments in Hawaii Aquaria in Hawaii Buildings and structures in Honolulu County, Hawaii Zoos in Hawaii Tourist attractions in Honolulu County, Hawaii Zoos established in 1964 Buildings and structures completed in 1964 Parques Reunidos