For now, the African penguin page on the Monterey Bay Aquarium's website still reads "Not on exhibit." The Penguin Cam, a habit for anyone who checks in on the colony from home, says it is "currently offline as we renovate our exhibits." Both notices come down soon. The penguins are the centerpiece of "Ocean in Motion / La Danza del Mar," a new bilingual gallery that opens to the public on Saturday, November 7.
For Cannery Row's neighbors, the date to circle comes earlier. Members start getting in this Saturday, October 31, and the preview run lasts through Tuesday, November 3. After a few donor-only sessions, that week is the first look most members will get at the penguins' new home, before the gallery opens to all ticket holders.
The penguins come back to a much bigger room
The aquarium's September 8 announcement calls the new space "a much-expanded penguin habitat that is the centerpiece of the gallery." Projections of waddling and swimming penguins lead visitors to it. Inside, birds dive in for a swim while others preen, waddle and rest on a rocky beach. To the right of the habitat, digital interactives show penguin silhouettes in motion and invite kids to waddle, flap and shake their tails along with them.
The aquarium describes African penguins as critically endangered. Part of the gallery's job is to show children how a changing climate and overfishing affect the species, and what people can do to help it survive.
The new gallery takes over a space many local families know well. The Monterey Peninsula Post reported that it replaces what Hoodline identified as the aquarium's former Splash Zone. Members got an early hint in the aquarium's Spring/Summer 2025 member magazine, whose cover promised "a reimagining of our beloved family gallery is coming soon."
Who gets in before November 7
The aquarium's Ocean in Motion page lays out a preview calendar in stages, starting with donors and widening to all members. The Packards' Circle morning reception was on October 24. Everything below is still ahead as of this week.
| Date | Who | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 30 | Donor preview | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Donor preview | 8 a.m. to noon |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Member preview | Noon to 5 p.m. |
| Sun., Nov. 1 | Adults-only member preview, 18 and older | 8 to 10 a.m. |
| Sun., Nov. 1 to Tues., Nov. 3 | Member previews | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 7 | Public opening | Opens to all visitors |
The logistics are simple. Members come in through the Main Entrance as usual, then show their member card and photo ID at the gallery entry. Guest cards are honored. On the Saturday preview, donors have the morning and general members start at noon, which lands on Halloween afternoon. Families planning a costume visit should know that the member window opens at midday.
The adults-only morning makes sense once you see who the gallery is for
The gallery was "created with children from two to six years old in mind," the aquarium says, though it is open to visitors of all ages. So the two-hour, 18-and-older slot on Sunday, November 1 is the quietest early look at the penguins and reef these first few weeks are likely to offer. The rest of the room is built for small bodies in motion.
"The main theme of this exhibit is building empathy with ocean life in kids through movement, so we've selected endearing animals that move in fun ways," aquarium CEO Jenny Gray said in the aquarium's announcement. Each species matches a movement kids can copy:
- Big-belly seahorses twist and wrap their tails around bright-green seagrass. Before kids reach the live exhibit, they pass larger-than-life seagrass towers they can hold onto, seahorse-style.
- Leaping blennies live in a large open-top exhibit at eye level, where water washing over the rocks makes them leap, hop and sometimes flop. Shapes on the floor nearby cue visitors to hop rock to rock the same way.
- Bluespotted ribbontail rays and clownfish share a 20-foot coral reef, one of the gallery's largest single exhibits, with a custom wave machine rippling through the water. A coral-themed play area sits beside it.
- Flamboyant cuttlefish flutter their arms and fins across the seafloor while color flashes over their bodies. Spotted garden eels sway out of sandy burrows to catch drifting plankton.
The labels are written like a children's book, with the animals as main characters, so caregivers can read them aloud. Emily Saich, the aquarium's vice president of exhibitions, said in the same announcement that the team "engaged with young children and their adults" early on, so the design would follow the words and movements kids naturally use for each animal. The main path through the gallery is fully accessible, and a water play area means kids should come ready to splash. Major leadership gifts came from the Acton Family, Connie and Bob Lurie, and penguin exhibit sponsors the Susie and Gideon Yu Family.
The county free-admission window closed before this opened
That timing matters for local households without a membership. This year's free admission for Monterey County residents ran September 8 to 20. It required advance online reservations, capped each reservation at six tickets, and has now ended. It wrapped up seven weeks before the new gallery opens, so this year's free window came and went before Ocean in Motion was open to see.
A few other ways in are still running:
- Museums for All gives free admission to an adult SNAP or CalFresh recipient plus up to three guests. Entry is in person at the Main Entrance with a photo ID that matches the card. SUN Bucks and P-EBT are not accepted, and the aquarium lists no end date for the program. Salinas Public Library notes that Museums for All replaced its former Shelf-to-Shore pass, which ended in May 2024.
- Community-group visits offer free access through eligible nonprofits, government agencies and social-service providers. School field trips have their own free programs.
- Membership includes the preview events above plus unlimited admission all year.
- Aquarium Live streams an online preview of the gallery on opening day, Saturday, November 7, at 2 p.m.
The Penguin and Coral Reef cams are also part of the aquarium's plan for staying connected from home once the gallery opens.
Two newer stops on either side of the aquarium
A preview visit pairs easily with a couple of businesses that are new to the walk in. Down Cannery Row, Carmel-based Gelato-by-the-Sea has opened an outpost beside The Fish Hopper at 700 Cannery Row, Monterey County Now reported.
Up the hill in New Monterey, Farm Fresh Produce Est. 1964 opened at the start of August at 899 Lighthouse Ave. It's run by longtime produce seller Randy Moreno and his partner Debbie Weberg, according to Monterey County Now. Edible Monterey Bay headlined it as a "gloriously old-school" produce market. It's an easy place to grab snacks for little ones before a morning in the gallery.
Peter Boggs is a third-generation Peninsula Realtor, and he keeps track of changes like this one for clients who are relocating. If you're new to Monterey and want help figuring out which corners of town put Cannery Row, Lighthouse Avenue and the Recreation Trail within walking distance of your daily routine, Boggs Team Realtors is happy to help. Contact Peter.
