The University of Texas Marine Science Institute

The University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute is the oldest and most significant marine research facility on the Texas coast. We are changing our understanding of the world's oceans and coasts and educating a global population dependent on the ocean ecosystem. What began humbly in 1941 as a small, rough-lumber shack on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico in Port Aransas is now home to cutting-edge research, education, and outreach programs. Free admission to see tanks displaying sea horses, eels, oysters, fish and other marine life.