Head Outside This Fall With Birch Aquarium’s Outdoor Adventures

There is a pier in La Jolla that the public is not allowed to walk on. Birch Aquarium can get you out there.

Outdoor Adventures are back for the season, and they take two forms: Sunset Scripps Pier Walks and Tidepooling Adventures. Both run 90 minutes, both are led by aquarium educators, and both put you on the La Jolla coast instead of looking at it through glass.

Plankton, Squid, and Shark Science at Sunset

The Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier is normally closed to the public. Pier Walks are how you get on it.

You will walk the full length of the pier while educators run hands-on science along the way, from the microscopic world of plankton to squid dissection to the shark research happening at Scripps right now. The sunset handles the rest.

This one is open to ages nine and up. Start times shift with sunset, and you are on your feet the whole time, so wear comfortable shoes and dress in layers. Tours meet at the pier entrance and transportation is not included.

Sea Stars, Low Tide, and the Toughest Real Estate on the Coast

Tidepooling Adventures are open to ages six and up, and every minor needs a paid adult along.

You will spend 90 minutes at a local tide pool with an educator, learning what lives in the intertidal zone, how those animals are built for a habitat that gets hammered twice a day, and how to look closely without disturbing anything.

Meeting spots alternate between Scripps Pier and Kellogg Park depending on the day, and timing follows the low tide.

Book Early

Outdoor Adventures tickets are separate from aquarium general admission. Pier Walks are $35 for aquarium members and $40 general. Tidepooling runs $20 for members and $25 general.

Times move with the sunset or the tides, so check the schedule before you lock in a date. Advance registration is required, and these sell out.