You are down to your last weekend to visit the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher before it goes dark for a major, yearslong renovation. The Kure Beach attraction will shut on May 26, 2026, and is expected to stay closed for roughly 30 months while crews expand exhibits and build a new shark habitat.
As Axios notes, this is the final weekend the Fort Fisher aquarium will be open before construction work kicks in after Memorial Day. According to the North Carolina Aquarium's FAQ, all areas will close on May 26, 2026, and the facility will remain open through May 25 for last visits. Anyone planning a trip is urged to double-check hours and ticket availability before heading down the coast.
What the overhaul will add
State officials say the roughly $65 million project will grow the Fort Fisher campus and introduce several new habitats and public spaces, according to a press release from the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. The showpiece will be a 400,000-gallon sand tiger shark habitat with new touch tanks, plus a live coral gallery, an education center and a rooftop sky deck. Construction is expected to take about 30 months, which would put a tentative reopening in late 2028, WECT reports.
Animals and a pop-up in Wilmington
Most animals will remain on-site in the care of the aquarium’s animal-care team during construction, the aquarium says in its newsroom announcement, although staff add that some species may be temporarily relocated to sister facilities when needed. To keep a public presence, the Fort Fisher team is building “Discovery Bay,” a smaller experience at Independence Mall in Wilmington that will host ambassador animal encounters, small habitats and behind-the-scenes holding and life-support systems for staff. The mall space is intended to let the team continue outreach and education while the main building is closed.
Plan your visit
Adult admission is $15, and entry runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Monday, according to Axios. The aquarium drew about 474,000 visitors in 2025, so crowds are likely this final weekend, and visitors may want to reserve tickets ahead of time.
Why it matters
The expansion is aimed at boosting conservation programming and turning Fort Fisher into the state's flagship aquarium, with officials saying it will deepen educational offerings and increase visitor capacity. Hoodline first covered the planned shutdown and early timeline in a November report, major overhaul. With construction beginning after Memorial Day, expect more updates from state officials and local outlets as the job moves toward a late-2028 return.
