Halloween Aglow at Birch Aquarium: Two Family Nights, Oct 23–24

Halloween Aglow is Birch Aquarium’s annual family night after dark — two evenings, trick-or-treat through the galleries, and scuba divers carving pumpkins in the Sharks & Rays habitat.

Overview

On Friday, October 23 and Saturday, October 24, 2026, Birch Aquarium at Scripps stays open from 6 to 8:30 p.m. for Halloween Aglow. Costumes are welcome (ocean-themed gets bonus points). Treat stations run the whole window, the Boo & Goo Lab is the slime-science stop, and live music from Billy Lee & The Swamp Critters fills the night.

This is the family event. Birch also runs Oceans at Night: Halloween on Thursday, October 22 — that’s 21+ and a separate ticket. Don’t mix them at checkout.

Program and hours live on the official Halloween Aglow page. Tickets are sold through Birch Aquarium’s ticket store, not as daytime general admission. For more around the county, browse the Hello San Diego event calendar.

What You Need to Know

Event: Halloween Aglow (annual family Halloween at Birch Aquarium)

When: Friday, October 23 and Saturday, October 24, 2026 — 6:00–8:30 p.m.

Where: Birch Aquarium at Scripps — 2300 Expedition Way, La Jolla, CA 92037

Cost: From $49.95 — children 3–12 $49.95; adults 13+ $59.95; ages 2 and under free. Members save 20% (enter an active member number in the cart). All sales are final.

Tickets: Birch Aquarium eTicketing — Halloween Aglow Adult (13+) or Child (3–12). All minors must be accompanied by a paid adult.

Ages: Family-friendly. Not the 21+ Oceans at Night night.

What to Expect

• Trick-or-treat stations throughout the aquarium, 6–8:30 p.m.
• Underwater pumpkin carving at 7:00 and 7:45 p.m. in the Sharks & Rays habitat on Blue Beach
• Boo & Goo Lab — hands-on slime science (the aquarium’s programs team talks about critters that regenerate body parts)
• The Bone Zone — whale-fall science and the animals that live among those skeletons
• Pop-up Science with Scripps Oceanography, including real specimens from the Scripps Collections
• Billy Lee & The Swamp Critters live, 6–8:30 p.m.

The newsroom preview also mentions classic arcade games. Come in costume if you have one — it’s that kind of night.

Good to Know

• Buy the Halloween Aglow tickets, not Oceans at Night (Oct. 22, 21+) and not regular daytime admission.
• Two nights, same hours. Pick Friday or Saturday; the program on the event page is the same window both evenings.
• Ages 2 and under are free; everyone else needs a ticket, and a paid adult has to come with minors.
• Member discount is 20% in the cart with an active member number.
• Parking for this after-hours event isn’t spelled out on the Aglow page — use Birch’s visit information if you need directions to 2300 Expedition Way.

Two family nights on the bluff. Grab Aglow tickets, skip the 21+ night unless that’s actually your plan, and get there close to 6 if you want the full trick-or-treat loop plus both pumpkin-carving sets.