Monterey Bay Aquarium
886 Cannery Row, Monterey, (831) 648-4800, montereybayaquarium.org
Where education and entertainment meet is a special and elusive place. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is one of the few institutions anywhere that has successfully staked its claim right in this intersection, becoming one of Monterey County’s crown jewels. As Cynthia Vernon, the Aquarium’s chief operating officer, likes to say, the institution is “changing what it means to be an aquarium.” Exhibitions such as the newly opened Into the Deep give visitors a one-of-a-kind look at the animals that make up the deep sea; the Aquarium’s science and policy team advocate for momentous legislation like California’s new single-use plastics ban; and its educational programming welcomes tens of thousands of school kids per year to offer an introduction to the sea and marine science.