Sea Turtle Care Center at the South Carolina Aquarium — Aquarium Review
Let's start big picture. What's the vibe here?
Fresh breezes from the harbor greet you as you walk up the ramp into this friendly behemoth. It's architecturally very spacious, so despite the definite kid energy here (children absolutely love this place), there are still plenty of nooks where you can zone out to the hypnotic undulations of a pulsing moon jellyfish, or stare down a suspended longnose gar. Most folks head straight for the biggest attraction: the multi-story Great Ocean Tank with its concentric parade of sharks and ginormous pufferfish. But it's the Sea Turtle Care Center that gives this place such heart. For 25 years now, whenever ailing sea turtles are stranded and rescued from regional waters (caught in netting, injured by a boat prop or shark attack, accidentally hooked by a fisherman, or stunned by a cold front), they are brought here for care, recuperation, and a second chance at life. You can help, simply by paying the price of admission and bearing witness.
Tell us about your fellow tourees.
All ages, all types, but definitely families with children big and small. There's something to interest everyone, from technicolor roseate spoonbills to interactive 'touch tanks' (stingrays, horseshoe crabs). You learn so much about the waters that surround you here.
Any standout features or must-sees?
On the main floor, head to the Sea Turtle Care Center where prehistoric patients swim around in roomy display tanks. You can meet each one and read all about their journeys, from highly endangered petite Kemp's ridley turtles to hundred-pound loggerheads (their largest loggerhead weighed in at 360 pounds; their largest leatherback a whopping 500!). From behind glass, you might witness an X-Ray in progress, or watch caregivers applying honey to wounds—that's right, honey, with its natural antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, a biodegradable sealant. You might even catch a surgery in progress, like the reattaching of a flipper, or cataracts removal (yes, turtles get cataracts, too). Best of all are turtle release dates, when staff doctors deem a turtle healthy enough to rewild—the community comes to the beach to see it off, joyful and even tearful as the turtle ambles into waves and disappears beneath them.
Was it easy to get around?
Ramps, escalators, and elevators make the aquarium easy to access. It flows. Sometimes the crowds can be a bit much, like little boys jostling for position at the snake and alligator tanks, but you can always walk over and commune with the less popular (but very handsome) invasive lionfish.
All said and done, what—and who—is this best for?
Humanity! It's priceless to witness such hands-on dedication to the protection of endangered sea life. Charleston is full of people who really care: volunteers who obtain permits to walk beaches at night to protect nesting sea turtles on barrier islands. When you walk into the Sea Turtle Care Center, you'll see a wall of local donors who make it all possible.
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