The National Aquarium has electronic and traditional high definition videos of animals and exhibits from both the Baltimore and Washington, DC, venues, conservation events, and more. These are available free of charge to bona fide media outlets.

All non-media requests for video should be sent to our Exhibits and Design department. Please note, there may be a fee for use of videos.

News media who would like to shoot at either of the National Aquarium’s venues may contact 410-576-3848 or media@aqua.org to obtain clearance and arrange for a staff escort. We have several restrictions with regard to time of day for filming, ability to providing lighting on certain animals, and crowd control.

Due to the amount of time associated with escorting film crews and interviews, we cannot accommodate requests to help with school projects. We receive more than a thousand requests from students each year and we simply cannot answer questions related to school projects.

Students are still encouraged to plan a trip to the Aquarium and talk with our exhibit guides and dolphin trainers. To interview a dolphin trainer, have two or three questions prepared. Following each show, a trainer is available to answer visitor questions. Remember to keep the questions limited to just a few, though, because we may have more than one student looking for answers! There are many exhibit guides throughout the buildings who would be happy to help answer your questions. If you can’t make it to the Aquarium, our website is a wonderful resource for student projects.

Interested in producing an advertisement or other commercial endeavor at the National Aquarium?

The Baltimore venue has become an icon of the Inner Harbor and a family-friendly attraction with tremendous visual impact. The venue is often considered as a location for feature and independent films, and print, and broadcast advertising campaigns.

Please direct any inquiries about this opportunity to the media relations team at 410-576-3860 to discuss your project, your client, your end product (and scope of distribution), the estimated amount of time you will require and dates. We will review this information to ensure consistency with our education and conservation mission, and our role as a prominent business presence and family attraction, and also to gauge the timing.

Please allow a few business days for review of the request, and at least two weeks lead time prior to the anticipated shoot day.

The National Aquarium charges a fee of $4,000 for four hours of access to the building. You may also be responsible for additional charges including overtime staffing and security, insurance, and any union contract stipulations. In certain instances you may also be required to provide your own generator.

Animal care, staff safety and an exceptional visitor experience are our highest priorities at the National Aquarium. For that reason, shoots can only be accommodated after we close to visitors. For human and animal safety reasons, we cannot allow your crew, talent or equipment to be immersed in the shark or dolphin exhibits. Access to exhibits and behind-the-scenes areas is entirely at the discretion of the exhibit curators or directors, who also reserve the right to restrict any activity that may be harmful to Aquarium staff or animals.

We look forward to working with you and sharing the beauty and wonder of the aquatic world with your audiences!