Explore some of the wildest courtship and mating strategies in the animal kingdom. From mate-munching mantises to leaping fish, learn how animals go to extremes to pass on their genes.

A pair of colorful filefish welcome visitors to the Animal Attraction gallery, where some of the animal kingdom's most outrageous (and successful) strategies for meeting and mating are on display. 

Encounter hermaphroditic banana slugs, cannibalistic praying mantises, monogamous shrimp, and more than a dozen other live creatures, whose unique—and often bizarre—methods of passing on their genes add color and diversity to our planet.

This exhibit is no longer on view. 

A small, purple octopus creeps out of a pipe-house in the Animal Attraction exhibit.

Interactive Labels

Tank-side iPads are packed with images, videos, and stories that enable you to learn even more about your favorite creatures.

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A pair of ethereal Japanese nettle jellyfish sail through dark waters.

Biologist-Curated

Each creature in Animal Attractions was specially chosen by a Steinhart Aquarium biologist to illustrate a mating strategy sure to surprise. 

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A school of yellow and black and white-striped fish in Animal Attraction.

Sea of Love

Catch our Penguin Feedings and Coral Reef Dive Shows to find out who's mating, flirting, and spawning right here in some of our most-loved tanks.  

 

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A brightly spotted file fish swims through deep-blue waters.

The Birds and the Bees

In this case, it's more like "the snails and the clownfish." Test your strange-love IQ with these unusual entries in the facts of life!

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