Connecticut has puffins. The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk opened Seabirds Between Worlds with a ribbon cutting on Thursday, June 11, 2026, and the exhibit went on to open to the public that Saturday, June 13.
The colony is made up of six Atlantic puffins and six common murres. Three of the puffins, all males, came from Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. The three female puffins and all six murres came from SeaWorld San Diego. They are the only puffins on display in the state.
Above and below the waterline
The habitat holds 5,200 gallons of saltwater and is built deep enough for the birds to dive and swim the way they would at sea. Rockwork mimics the rugged North Atlantic coastlines both species nest on, and viewing panels let guests watch from above and below the surface. A soundscape runs through the space with the calls of a seabird colony.
“All the birds have acclimated really well to their new habitat,” said Julie Mede Moussa, assistant curator. “Introducing birds to one another and to a new environment can be challenging, but we are seeing great positive natural behaviors as they explore and settle into their surroundings.”
Two species that cross an ocean
Atlantic puffins nest along North Atlantic coasts including Maine, eastern Canada and northern Europe. Common murres range more widely still, across the North Atlantic on both sides and into the North Pacific.
“We’re excited to celebrate the opening of Seabirds Between Worlds and to bring Atlantic puffins and common murres to Connecticut,” said Jason Patlis, president and CEO of the aquarium. “These two charismatic and beautiful species represent not only the amazing birdlife found in the northern reaches of the planet, but they also demonstrate the close connection that people across the world and over centuries have with the ocean.”
The exhibit also makes the case for seabirds as indicators of ocean health. Their diets, behavior and population trends tell researchers about water temperature, fish availability and wider shifts in the ecosystem.
The fourth new exhibit in five years
Seabirds Between Worlds continues a run of building at the Norwalk aquarium. Pinniped Cove, a 160,000-gallon seal habitat 22 feet deep and the largest exhibit in the aquarium’s history, opened in 2021. A 32-foot, 7,000-gallon Atlantic sturgeon touch tank followed in 2023, and the bilingual salt marsh exhibit Life Among the Grasses opened in 2024.
Senator Bob Duff, Mayor Barbara Smyth, state representatives Lucy Dathan and Dominique Johnson, and trustees chair Clay Fowler joined Patlis for the ribbon cutting. The exhibit is included with general admission.
