The New York Aquarium is taking the quiet week between Christmas and New Year and turning it into an event. Holiday Tides, the Wildlife Conservation Society aquarium’s first winter celebration, runs December 26 through 31, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, and everything in it is included with regular admission.
That last detail is the one that matters most to a family in Brooklyn in late December. There is no separate ticket, no add-on, and no timed upcharge for the activities. WCS members get in free and do not need to reserve; everyone else books a date in advance.
What happens during Holiday Tides?
The aquarium has built the six days around things that are already going on in the building, rather than bolting a holiday market onto the front door.
Animals get seasonal enrichment, which is the keeper’s term for an object or a puzzle introduced into a habitat to prompt an animal to do something it would do in the wild: hunt, pry, shred, investigate. Visitors watch the enrichment go in and can see why it is given. Ice carvers work blocks of ice into finished pieces through the day, and some of those carvings are handed to the animals afterward as enrichment themselves, which is a tidier loop than most holiday programming manages.
The rest of the schedule is a day’s worth of things to do at your own pace: the Aquatheater sea lion presentation, a seasonally themed film in the 4D Theater, storytelling, songs and puppetry from Wildlife Theater, seasonal crafts, limited-run food and drink, and photo backdrops.
Why a winter event at an oceanfront aquarium?
Coney Island in December is not the obvious place to put a holiday tradition, and that is close to the point. The New York Aquarium sits on the boardwalk and is the city’s only oceanfront attraction of its kind, home to more than 4,500 animals. Its seasonal calendar has been filling in steadily around the edges of summer: Ocean Shell-a-bration, Shark Party, and Ascarium, its Halloween run. Holiday Tides closes the last open stretch of the year.
Aquariums are indoor buildings, which is an advantage nobody advertises until the weather turns. A December afternoon spent watching a sea lion work with its trainers is a December afternoon spent warm.
When and how to go
Holiday Tides runs daily from Saturday, December 26 to Thursday, December 31, 2026, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is included with New York Aquarium admission and free for WCS members. Non-members must reserve tickets in advance; members do not. The daily schedule of activities and available dates are on the aquarium’s announcement from the WCS newsroom.
Quick answers
- When is Holiday Tides at the New York Aquarium?
Daily from Saturday, December 26 through Thursday, December 31, 2026, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Is Holiday Tides included with admission?
Yes. It is included with New York Aquarium admission and free for WCS members. Non-members must reserve tickets in advance; members do not need a reservation.
- What is included in Holiday Tides?
Seasonal animal enrichment, ice-carving demonstrations, the Aquatheater sea lion presentation, a seasonally themed film in the 4D Theater, Wildlife Theater storytelling, songs and puppetry, seasonal crafts, limited-time food and drink, and photo backdrops.
- What happens to the ice carvings?
Some of them are given to the animals afterward as enrichment.
- Where is the New York Aquarium?
On the boardwalk at Coney Island in Brooklyn. It is the city only oceanfront aquarium and is home to more than 4,500 aquatic animals.
- Has the aquarium run a winter event before?
No. Holiday Tides is its inaugural winter celebration, joining Ocean Shell-a-bration, Shark Party and the Halloween run Ascarium on its seasonal calendar.
