This enormous aquarium is the cornerstone of Long Beach's new waterfront. Figuring that what stimulated flagging economies in Monterey and Baltimore would work in Long Beach, planners gave their all to this project, creating a crowd-pleasing attraction just across the harbor from Long Beach's other mainstay, the Queen Mary. The vast facility -- it has enough exhibit space to fill three football fields -- re-creates three areas of the Pacific: the warm Baja and Southern California regions, the Bering Sea and chilly northern Pacific, and faraway tropical climes, including impressive re-creations of a lagoon and barrier reef. There are more than 12,000 creatures in all, from sharks and sea lions to delicate sea horses, moon jellies, and gaggles of tropical birds within the Lorikeet Forest. Learn little-known aquatic facts at the many educational exhibits, or come nose-to-nose with sea lions, eels, sharks, and other inhabitants of giant, three-story-high tanks.