Beach Naturalist

Home » Explore the Aquarium » Public programs » Beach Naturalist

Exploring the wonders of local beaches

Stroll along almost any local beach during low tide and you’ll see that the shore is alive!

The Aquarium’s seasonal Beach Naturalist program helps community members learn about and enjoy our vibrant shorelines. Through the program, local experts on the marine environment—beach naturalists—educate members of the public on how to explore shorelines while keeping animals and their homes safe. They might also tell you what sea stars eat, explain why barnacles stand on their heads, describe how moon snails lay their eggs and so much more.

As of winter 2025, the Aquarium’s team is reimagining how we deliver this program. As a result:

Upcoming locations and dates are not yet available.
Our Beach Naturalist volunteer program is on pause.

When further details are available, they will be shared on this page; please check back. In the meantime, we invite you to use our multilingual digital resources below to support your exploration of local marine ecosystems. We appreciate your patience as we plan the future of this vital work.

Need help identifying something? Email a photo to beachnaturalist@seattleaquarium.org and a beach naturalist will respond to you as soon as we can.

2024 Beach Naturalist Locations and Schedule

The 2024 Beach Naturalist season is right around the corner! Explore a map to find your nearest beach or select from the list below. Our naturalists will be stationed on each of the listed dates at the listed beaches.

*Please note that Beach Naturalists will NOT be stationed at locations listed below on certain dates due to other events in the area:

Des Moines Beach on June 5, June 6, July 4, July 20 and July 21.
Dash Point on July 6.

Beach locations map

Direct links to beach locations

Beach Naturalist schedule

Our naturalists will be stationed during the listed dates and times.

Date	Time	Low tide
Friday, May 24	10:30am–1:30pm	-2.46 @ 12:08pm
Saturday, May 25	11am–2pm	-2.7 @ 12:48pm
Sunday, May 26	11:30am–2:30pm	-2.7 @ 1:32pm
Monday, May 27	12:15pm–3:15pm	-2.42 @ 2:19pm
Wednesday, June 5*	9:30am–12:30pm	-2.96 @ 10:40am
Thursday, June 6*	9:30am–1:30pm	-3.36 @ 11:21am**
Friday, June 7	9:30am–1:30pm	-3.32 @ 12:03pm**
Saturday, June 8	10:45am–2:15pm	-2.95 @ 12:45pm
Sunday, June 9	11:30am–2:30pm	-2.31 @ 1:28pm
Friday, June 21	9:30am–12:30pm	-2.62 @ 11:07am
Saturday, June 22	9:45am–1:45pm	-3.06 @ 11:49am
Sunday, June 23	10:30am–2:30pm	-3.25 @ 12:32pm**
Monday, June 24	11:30am–3:30pm	-3.12 @ 1:17pm**
Tuesday, June 25	12pm–3:30pm	-2.59 @ 2:03pm
Thursday, July 4*	9:30am–12pm	-2.76 @ 10:22am
Friday, July 5	9:30am–12:30pm	-2.84 @ 11:05am
Saturday, July 6*	10am–1:30pm	-2.67 @ 11:47am
Sunday, July 7	10:30am–1:30pm	-2.29 @ 12:28pm
Saturday, July 20*	9:30am–12:30pm	-2.71 @ 10:48am
Sunday, July 21*	9:30am–1:30pm	-3.11 @ 11:32am**
Monday, July 22	10:30am–2pm	-3.15 @ 12:16pm**
Tuesday, July 23	11am–2:30pm	-2.73 @ 1pm

*Beach Naturalists will NOT be stationed at locations listed below on certain dates due to other events in the area:

Des Moines Beach on June 5, June 6, July 4, July 20 and July 21.
Dash Point on July 6.

**Lowest tides of the season.

Beach Resources

Meet our beach neighbors

Our field guides include photos and detailed descriptions of nearly 50 commonly found intertidal residents.

Field guides

This color photo guide includes animals commonly seen on Puget Sound beaches and here at the Aquarium. Available in the following languages:

Beach etiquette guides

Follow these guidelines to keep yourself and the animals on our beaches safe.

Videos