Birch Aquarium at Scripps is expanding its Imagine Wild exhibition this fall with The Axolotl’s Garden / El Jardín del Ajolote, a new space built around the critically endangered Mexican salamander and the lake system it comes from. The aquarium announced the project on July 16, 2026 from La Jolla, California.
The exhibition takes on the axolotl from several directions at once: the mythology and folklore that surround the animal, the pressures it faces in a changing world, and the other Mexican species that share its story. Guests will move through a space designed as a story-world drawn from the ecology and culture of Mexico and Baja California, built around themes of biodiversity, climate resilience, habitat loss, migration, transformation and care, and told through live animals, contemporary art and conservation science.
Built with an artist, and with a trip to Xochimilco
The Axolotl’s Garden was created in collaboration with Mexican-American artist Itzel Islas.
Before the design work started, Director of Exhibits Megan Dickerson traveled to Mexico City with members of the aquarium’s education and administrative teams. They went out onto Xochimilco Lake, the axolotl’s home water and one of the last places where the traditional chinampa system of farming is still practiced. They visited the Axolotl Museum, and they sat down with farmers and with leading conservation researchers.
“The Axolotl reminds us that saving a species is never just about the species itself. It’s about restoring the relationships between people, place and nature,” Dickerson said. “In Xochimilco, many people, from chinampa farmers to conservation biologists, shared the same concept: ‘No ajolotes, no Xochimilco. No Xochimilco, no ajolotes.’ That idea became the heart of this exhibition.”
What an axolotl actually is
Axolotls are a critically endangered salamander, historically found in the wetlands and lakes near Mexico City. They are known for a distinctive pink coloration, though the animals range in color and are typically brown or gray in the wild.
Two things make them famous among biologists. They can regenerate body parts if they are injured, and they hold onto juvenile characteristics throughout their lives, a trait called neoteny.
Planning a visit
The opening date for The Axolotl’s Garden will be announced soon. When it opens it will be included with aquarium admission, which varies by date and time. Birch Aquarium opens daily at 9 a.m., and buying tickets online in advance gets the best pricing. An annual membership covers visits all year.
Come fall, a guest will be able to stand in a painted garden in La Jolla and look at an animal most of the world knows only as a cartoon, and leave knowing where it lives and who is fighting for the water it lives in.
