Charleston Marine Life Center

Cool little place!! Worth the $5, staff is friendly & knowledgeable. Displays are interesting also

We were really impressed with the Charleston Marine Life Center. Not only is it a terrific deal at $5 for adults (kids are free!), but it is a great educational experience for people of all ages. The exhibits are well made and interesting, and there are a lot of hands-on features for kids to explore. Its not a huge facility, but it is packed with enough fun for 1-2 hours of exploration.

Great place. Worth the time and money. Adults only 3 dollars. Children free. Great location in a cool town on a great scenic drive. Friendly staff. Great place to view seals in the boat basin. Awesome. Tip, borrow the magnifying glass to attach to the camera on your phone.

What a hidden gem! Went on my daughters field trip. Touch pool for kids, whale n turtle skeletons plus more. Variety of objects to touch n look under microscope n magnifying glass. Just awesome

Its small, but well maintained. They have Marco lenses that you can borrow to clip on your phone camera lens. I got neat shots of tiny sea creatures.

Loved it, great for both kids and adults! Small, intimate and with tons of knowledge!

The kiddos love it there!! Lots of fun stuff to explore and look at :) volunteer staff was also so sweet

This is a great small aquarium that is well worth the short detour off the main road. The staff is friendly and excited to share all their knowledge. It is very child friendly (all ages).The octopus was very active during the day, and there are many touch pools for kids.

We had a blast looking at the exhibits. The place is fairly quiet and reasonably priced. There is a lot to see. Would be a great place to take kids to.

Undergrad scientists were there for public interaction! Our family learned a few new things!

Was a very nice institution the volunteers on duty you could tell really enjoyed sharing their knowledge. I enjoyed my time there very much. Cost $5.00 for an adult to enter well worth the money, compleatly different the the OSU Mark Hatfield marine center in Newport.

Very majestic and professional facility

The staff was very friendly and informative. You were able to touch some of the sea life some people may not see up close otherwise.

I brought my grandson and his friend a few years ago and it truly is amazing. Very well put together, lots of creatures to view, very kid friendly. I believe it was $25 for a yearly pass, well worth it.

Such an interesting place. So many things to see! We couldve spent the whole day, but didnt have it. Will return to do it justice one day. Loved the touching pond, the many, many shells, the whale skeleton parts, etc.

What a great stop on the Southern Oregon Coast Charm Trail. Found a new charm today also.

Very educational, great family activities, and if youre lucky enough theyll let you feed the baby Coho Salmon.

This place was so interesting and informative. My boyfriend and I had a great time wandering through, and getting to see all the interesting creatures. I would recommend this to anyone,

Took a bit to find but was very cool to look at

Fantastic place to discover new things about our marine life and other creatures. So much to see and interact with. Highly recommend you need to make this place a priority stop.

Awesome place for the whole family. Grandson thought it was great.

For a small place, the exhibits were really interesting and the staff friendly and helpful.

My family had an excellent time here. It was well worth the price of admission. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable. It is a little small but there is enough there to keep you busy learning for hours.

This is really basic and not a lot to do. The kids had fun but were done after about 15 minutes or so. The lady at the front desk was one of the nicest and most helpful people and she is the main reason for getting over 2 stars. Also, the price to get in is really cheap which is nice

Fantastic place with lots of things for children and adults alike!

So awesome, great and weird fish from deep deep down to whales and other awesome fish near the surface

Love this place! Fun. Organized. Knowledgable staff and volunteers. Every time something is a little different

Great, it was little. Been by it a million times just found it, lady at front desk was excellent to talk to.

We went here on a class field trip... The kids loved it, I would definitely go back! I especially loved the marine biology student that spoke to the kids... She had gone to the same school in Coquille that our class is from... This was very inspirational for the kids... I would have given 10 stars if I could!

A real nice presentation. Just a nice break on our drive down the coast, with good live fish exhibits and skeletons. In January not a lot of tourists. Well worth the small entrance fee and maybe the best show in town.

Beautiful place. Charter boats galore. Fresh seafood. Clean bathrooms and hot (pay) showers.

Very interesting! Small with helpful and attentive staff. I was amazed at the collection of starfish, including the basket starfish!

We love to take our kids to this very cool and sometimes living museum of sea life

Super for young kids. Great staff!

Awesome folks working there! Fantastic displays and live samples. Must do.

Wish it was a little bigger, but its still good. Even of its sponsored by the wrong Uni. Go Beavers!

Really nice little facility. Its nice to have something to do around town with the kids. My only complaint is it seems really short. I wish there was a few more things to take a little more time while there. I feel like we walked right in and out in a sort amount of time. Staff is wonderful and the place is really clean.

Great place to go for a few hours on a rainy day

Wow! Was very impressed! Will be visiting again and again! Have lived here all my life and still learned a few new things today! Staff was very friendly and helpful!

Cute place! Very small, really nice people were very helpful, my 4 year old thought it was wonderful.

I went in here with low expectations but was pleasantly surprised with this marine center! Staff is very interactive and there are many interactive activities as well. Great displays and very entertaining. For a small town like Charleston, this place is fantastic and visitors must go here!

One of my favorites at Coos Bay and the Cape Arago State Park.

What a fun and interactive attraction!! I grew up in Coos bay and never really knew about all the creatures in the ocean! You can learn, touch, and see everything happening in the Pacific Ocean. The volunteers were so nice and knowledgeable. My parents and I spent about 45 min but could have spent more time playing with the microscopes and bones/fossils. I’m definitely going to donate to the center so it can thrive and expand.

This is a great place to take the family after exploring the beach while visiting Charleston. I wouldnt drive from out of the area just to see it, but it is better than you might expect. It is part aquatic life museum and part small aquarium. The interactive exhibits include touch tanks and examining specimens under scientific microscopes. It is open to the marina and you can often see seals swimming near the boats outside. Only $5 for adults, $3 for children.

For being in Charleston, this place is great! Its not a big city aquarium or even the size of Newports. It teaches a lot about our local sea life near & dear to Coos Bay/Charleston area. Theres lots of things to touch for kids. Just remember its not an aquarium, its a marine life center. Its really awesome they built this place, Charleston needed.

Lots of fun. The kids loved it. Lots to check out and hands on activities.

All the volunteers were knowledgeable and helped us interact with the displays. I felt like a kid exploring and touching starfish with my children.

We have fun

Very interesting place. Lots to learn about with interactive. Computerized displays. The touch tank was neat

Fantastic exhibit and great place for kids to interact. Staff was very knowledgeable and friendly and took extra time with kids.

Great place with fantastic docents. Biologist was happy to answer my dumb questions.

So love it here.

Great little museum and aquarium for the price! There are plenty of different sea creatures and a touch pool, the staff is extremely friendly and knowledgeable. Very fun, the kids loved it.

What a frightful place for a school outing. Very educational. Lots of hands on experiences.

Amazing place to visit. The people that work there know so much about local marine life. They are always willing to answer questions and guide you through the different experiences.

Fun and interesting to visit, kids enjoyed seeing and learning about various creatures. The staff was very informative and a joy to listen to.

This was a really fun museum to visit. I came with my daughters and they had quite a bit of fun while learning. It is not very big, but it is worth the short trip from Coos Bay. We spent about one and a half hours here.

Its a very good except need to get the fuel Dock situation straightened out pain to get fuel you have to order a truck if you have a big boat or more your boat

I liked it more than the one in Newport.Seems more personal & hands on.Great displays but not pretentious.

I took my two year old daughter here. We had such a great time. The staff was so friendly and full of fun facts. This is definitely a great place to bring the kids and family.

Very interesting. Volunteers are helpful and knowledgeable

Small but lovely. The staff is amazing and super helpful. :)

This is a nice little museum/learning stop. Microscopes available for you too! A great way to learn about marine life on the coast

CMLC is small, but the perfect size for my two young boys to stay engaged. Beautiful displays, plenty to discover, a large variety of ocean life, and lots of hands-on interaction with a touch pool, microscopes, binoculars, and more. Volunteers were excellent.

Awesome aquatic displays and interactive areas. Plan to spend a couple hours here and maybe even watch them feed the resident octopus.

Just loved it. A must for kids of all ages. Wonderful staff!! Very interesting.

My kids loved it here.

Love great place for an afternoon adventure

Small, but very captivating. Plenty to see and experience to make it worth the small fee. Great experience for the youth. Staff was very friendly and helpful

Great experienceIt was interesting to see the different species from the Oregon Coast. More variety in their displays.

Great marine life exhibits, small, excellent helpful staff. Well worth a visit if you are interested in anything ocean, coast related

A very well done marine science center. From the gigantic skull of a grey whale oitside the entrance to tiny (US quarter-sized) live jellyfish, there is much to see and do here. You can touch a sea cucumber or a sea star, look at sharks teeth or sand dollars under a microscope or feel a aea otters fur. A tip: look for drawers (like under the seashells) and pull them out. Youll find more items like the ones above. My favorite was the colossal squid that was longer than little old 6-foot me. Another tip: if you ask the front desk staff nicely, they might let you help feed the salmon.

Quite interesting to say the least.

Loved it. Will be going next time were in town.

Lovely day outing with the kids. Attentive and informative staff. Very interesting exhibits.

Nice for a quick, inexpensive drop in with kids. Rock pools for touching and nice views of the inlet.

Really great exhibits, pet your starfish today!

Great exhibits and awesome staff! Enjoy watching the guys at Bandon Pacific sort fish or unload shrimp from one of the many fishing boats.

Very informative and educational

This is a great place to learn about the natural history and biology of the Coos Bay area. Kids will love it because of the touch tanks, and everyone can learn something from the helpful volunteers that work there.

We stumbled upon this place and were very surprised. We learned a lot! Volunteers were very helpful!

An intimate marine museum full of history and incredible sea life.Make sure to try the Survival Suit test...fun for all involved

Attraction like Charleston Marine Life Center of NORTH BEND,OREGON Coast makes a great summer vacation visit! Also like that its hometown for Radio Icon Delilah Rene!

Cool to see thr skeletons they have and learn

Very nice little place to take the kids. They have some hands on opportunities for the kidos....

Very knowledgeable people had a great time.

Fantastic place and amazing collection of marine life

It has some very interesting exhibits. Some are old and need to be replaced but still something to see.

Great place to learn about sea creatures. Interactive displays and friendly docents.

Amazingly cool place for such a small town. Very hands on, and the staff is very friendly and knowledgeable.

Very informative...

Small, but informative visit. Love the interaction display on whales.

An excellent educational experience! Staff is extremely knowledgeable, and friendly!

Great place to learn about sea life

Loved the visit to a manageable sized ocean aquarium museum!

Dont waste your money.

Small but good quality. My kids loved it and I learned some things too.

Free for students (if you bring your student card) and relatively small. Features exhibits of local sea life, usually collected by either fishermen or researchers at OIMB located just across the road.

Good time, learned some stuff and the kids had a great time!

Very informative, hands on learning. It was a great time! Thanks