National Aquarium of Cuba in Havana, Havana, Cuba | Aquarium

The National Aquarium of Cuba located in Havana, Cuba, is a scientific research center specialized in environmental education and disclosure of the flora, fauna and ecology of the marine environment.   The main objective of National Aquarium of Cuba is to increase both culture and education concerning care, conservation and rational use of sea, its resources, and coasts.

National Aquarium of Cuba was initially established on January 23rd 1960.   Main objective in those days was the creation of a new place devoted to what would be, and in fact is nowadays, the National Aquarium of Cuba. This new place opened its doors to the public on January 23rd 1960 showing its visitors the simple fishbowls installed at that time.   The initially installed 13 small-volume fishbowls allowed first visitors to the National Aquarium of Cuba to see and be interrelated with alive fish and marine invertebrates.  From that moment onwards the number of fishbowls and tanks increased steadily resulting in greater capacities and therefore in a wider exhibit of tropical marine flora and fauna.

In 1973 the National Aquarium of Cuba in Havana received the first marine mammal, a seal Artocephalus pusillus baptized with the name of "Silvia".   Silvia soon turned out to be the most popular and attractive animal of the institution and also a pattern to be used by the specialists for the management of marine mammals in the National Aquarium of Cuba.