Top attractions in this Texas Gulf Coast town showcase aquatic species and conservation, as well as U.S. Naval history.
By Diane Morey Sitton
December 2020
Corpus Christi, Texas, nicknamed the “Sparkling City By The Sea,” is known for its beautiful beaches, water sports, and sunsets framed by the blue-green waters of the Gulf of Mexico. So, it may come as no surprise to families visiting this sunny playground on the Texas Gulf Coast that two of the city’s most popular attractions are intrinsically connected to water: Texas State Aquarium, the largest aquarium in Texas, and the USS Lexington aircraft carrier, the longest serving Essex-class carrier in U.S. Naval history.
Free-flying parrots reside in the museum’s Caribbean Journey gallery.
The attractions sit side by side on North Beach, a section of Corpus Christi located on the far north end of the city. They are next to Harbor Bridge (U.S. 181), a large, arched span that stretches across the Corpus Christi ship channel. Note: At this writing, the iconic, LED-lit bridge was undergoing a major upgrade. Before visiting, check for traffic updates at www.harborbridgeproject.com. Also, because of 2020 closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic, check the status of each facility before you go.
Most visitors allow at least four hours to explore the Texas State Aquarium, an indoor/outdoor adventure spread over six acres of glimmering shoreline. Besides aquariums filled with sharks, barracuda, lionfish, and other marine species, highlights of the four-level attraction include touch tanks, interactive displays, wildlife shows, 4-D movies, and a splash park (open in spring and summer). Upon your arrival, check the Visitor Map and Guide (free with admission) for show schedules. For the best seating/viewing, arrive at each venue 30 minutes prior to scheduled program times.
Usually, folks begin their explorations upstairs at Caribbean Journey, a jungle environment that features the unique wildlife and geography of Mexico’s eastern Yucatan Peninsula (take the escalator or stairs in the main lobby to Level 2). Here, flamingos lounge in a lagoon, tortoises and shorebirds forage in a mangrove, and crocodiles lurk in a pool. If you look carefully, you’ll spot Xena, a well-camouflaged two-toed sloth that hangs out in the trees.
Green sea turtles
Farther ahead, it’s easy to spot the reef sharks that reside in the Caribbean Sea exhibit, one of two large aquatic displays in the Caribbean Journey area that encompass two levels. After your Level 2 “sneak peek,” go downstairs, where a 68-foot-long acrylic window provides a panoramic view of the sharks, along with a replica Spanish galleon shipwreck, a remnant of the Caribbean’s history as a trade route. For an even closer look at the sharks, barracuda, pufferfish, angelfish, and other marine species that live here, take a stroll through the underwater tunnel.
At the Coral Reef aquatic display, the other two-level aquarium, you also can experience underwater action up close by entering the Blue Hole viewing portal. Once inside the bubble-like enclosure, you’ll have a scuba diver’s perspective as you peer overhead and look side to side at angelfish, butterfly fish, parrotfish, and other colorful marine species as they dart among the strangely shaped coral formations characteristic of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef.
Nearby, movies entertain visitors with nature’s vivid beauty and exciting action . . . all with 4-D special effects. Shows rotate every 30 minutes.
Across the main lobby, the focus shifts to the wetlands, swamps, offshore oil rig habitats, and marine species associated with the Gulf of Mexico.
Atlantic bottlenose dolphin
Standouts here include Islands of Steel, the Gulf of Mexico’s largest indoor aquatic exhibit. This man-made reef consists of the barnacle-covered legs of a decommissioned oil platform and the sponges, oysters, sea urchins, crabs, snails, and other marine life that thrive there. Look for Hunter and Orion, the two sand tiger sharks, as well as red snappers and cownose rays, among other marine species.
At the Saving Sharks exhibit, visitors snap selfies inside the replica jaws of a prehistoric megalodon, stroke sharks at the shark touch pool, view a life-sized great white shark replica, and track sharks in real time via OCEARCH’s Global Shark Tracker. The interactive exhibit strives to inspire conservation of sharks and other Gulf of Mexico species.
The focus shifts from sharks to a federally protected underwater sanctuary at Flower Gardens. Here, a beautiful 40,000-gallon exhibit replicates The Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, a real-life coral reef some 215 miles east in the Gulf of Mexico. Like its namesake, the Flower Garden exhibit is occupied by queen angelfish, porkfish, unicorn filefish, and other exotic marine species common to fragile coral reef environments. “Diver in the Water” presentations are held daily from September through April.
In the aquarium’s Coral Reef display, lionfish mesmerize young visitors inside the Blue Hole viewing portal.
Outside, at the Dolphin Bay amphitheater, the audience meets Kai, Shadow, Liko, and Schooner. The Atlantic bottlenose dolphins perform twice daily. And if you don’t arrive early enough to get a good seat, you can view the action-packed shows through a 70-foot-long acrylic window in an underwater observation area.
Nearby, in Stingray Lagoon, thatched umbrellas provide shade for stingray touching as cownose, Atlantic, and southern stingrays glide by in a 10,000-gallon pool. Farther along the Boardwalk Gardens, you can watch the antics of otters and come face-to-face with sea turtles. (Sadly, Bo, an American alligator and popular aquarium resident in this area, died in September 2020). Hawks in free flight are the stars of the show at the open-air Wild Flight Theater.
For many Texas State Aquarium visitors, strolls along the Boardwalk Gardens provide their first glimpse of the USS Lexington aircraft carrier. The massive floating museum, with 16 decks and a displacement of 42,000 tons, is moored next door. (Entrance to the USS Lexington is two blocks north on Shoreline Boulevard.)
Built during World War II for the U.S. Navy and commissioned in 1943, the Lexington was first named the USS Cabot. But when reports arrived that the original USS Lexington carrier had perished in battle in the Coral Sea, the new carrier was renamed during construction to commemorate the lost ship. But the Lexington has a nickname as well. After Japanese radio repeatedly reported that she had been sunk, the shadowy blue aircraft carrier became known as “The Blue Ghost.”
Moored next door to the aquarium, the USS Lexington aircraft carrier offers self-guided tours of 11 of the ship’s decks, among other attractions.
Following extensive service in the Pacific War, the USS Lexington was reclassified as an attack carrier and later as an antisubmarine carrier before spending 30 years as a training ship in Pensacola, Florida. In 1992, the vessel arrived at her permanent home in Corpus Christi. “The Blue Ghost” is the oldest remaining fleet carrier in the world and designated a National Historic Landmark.
From the parking lot, follow the ramp to the Hangar Deck, where you’ll receive a self-guided tour map at admissions. Five tour routes cover 100,000 square feet and 11 decks. Allow up to four hours to explore all five routes. Smartphone users can enrich the tours by downloading a QR code reader app that corresponds to codes at various exhibits (English and Spanish). “Yellow shirt” volunteers, many of whom served on board the USS Lexington, are stationed throughout the ship to answer questions.
Aircraft on the USS Lexington’s Flight Deck include the KA-3B Skywarrior, a versatile carrier-based model that entered Naval service in 1956.
As visitors who take the Hangar Deck Tour learn through exhibits and artifacts, during wartime the 40,000-square-foot space was used to refuel, rearm, and store up to 60 aircraft. Don’t miss the action-packed 3-D movies at the MEGA Theater where aviation, flight, and history come alive on three-story-tall screens (shown hourly; free with admission). Other Hangar Deck diversions include the Virtual Battle Stations, where fighter pilot wannabes can jump into the cockpit of a warbird and test their skill via interactive gaming. (Hone your skills free online at www.worldofwarships.com or www.worldofwarplanes.com before coming aboard). The Mess Deck Café and the Ship’s Store (gift shop) occupy the Hangar Deck as well.
Of the five self-guided tours, the Flight Deck Tour is the most popular; it is accessible via elevator from the Hangar Deck. An F-4A Phantom II and an F-14 Tomcat number among the 20 vintage aircraft parked on the 910-foot-long deck. Two aircraft are open for boarding. Other flight deck points of interest include sites and equipment associated with high-speed catapult launches, arrested landings, and air operations. Photo ops abound.
On the Foc’sle Tour (vernacular for “forecastle”), visitors explore the opulent captain’s quarters, examine anchor machinery, and experience a multimedia film montage that retells the story of the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
The Combat Info Center (CIC) awaits Gallery Deck Tour sightseers. Here, just below the Flight Deck, visitors examine the area where crew members collected and evaluated all information on the status of the USS Lexington, as well as friendly ships and enemy forces.
The Lower Decks Tour goes to the chapel, crew’s quarters, engine room, and a POW exhibit. The Warbirds & Warships Scale Model Gallery consists of 440 scale models. It’s the largest publicly exhibited model collection in Texas.
Photo ops on the Hangar Deck.
Guided tours also are available; some include hands-on experiences, can last several hours, and require reservations. After a ready-room briefing on the Flight Operations Tour, you’ll take on the role of a flight deck crew member. The Hard Hat Tour explores 15 off-limits areas below deck. The Paranormal Tour visits sites of reported unexplained sightings or activities aboard the ship.
It’s fitting that marine-related attractions lure folks to Corpus Christi, a vibrant port city with a long seafaring legacy, a friendly reputation, and, oh, those beautiful sunsets.
Sea creatures that glow in the dark, exotic birds, a tropical jungle, a coral reef, starfish and sharks, not to mention exciting naval history, battle guns, and vintage aircraft: It’s all here, waiting to be explored.
Further Info
Texas State Aquarium
2710 N. Shoreline Blvd.
Corpus Christi, TX 78402
(800) 477-4853
www.texasstateaquarium.org
Open 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. daily
(Hours may expand in spring and summer.)
USS Lexington Museum on the Bay
2914 N. Shoreline Blvd.
Corpus Christi, TX 78402
(361) 888-4873
(800) 523-9539
www.usslexington.com
Open 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. daily.
Corpus Christi Visitor Info Center
1521 N. Chaparral St.
Corpus Christi, TX 78401
(800) 766-2322
(361) 561-2000
visitcorpuschristitx.org
Camping
visitcorpuschristitx.org/stay/camping-rv