High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Waikiki Aquarium is one of the premier marine science institutions in the City and County of Honolulu and the State of Hawaii. Founded on March 19, 1904, this marine aquarium is the third oldest public aquarium in the United States. Since 1919, the Waikiki Aquarium has been an institution of the University of Hawaii System.Situated beside a living coral reef on the Waikiki shoreline, the Waikiki Aquarium is home to more than 3,055 organisms of 464 species of marine plants and animals. Each year, over 350,000 people visit. The Waikiki Aquarium was designated a Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center of the Coastal America Partnership federal program.