Aquatic Resources Education Center in Anacostia Park

The Aquatic Resources Education Center (AREC) is open to the general public Tuesdays through Fridays from 1 PM to 3 PM. If you enter Anacostia Park on Nicholson Street, turn right on Anacostia Drive. AREC is located next to the roller skating rink.

1900 Anacostia Drive SE
Washington, D. C. 20020

The Aquatic Resources Education Center at Anacostia Park is operated by the Washington D. C. Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) in partnership with the National Park Service and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Inside you will find aquariums full of the fish, reptiles, and amphibians that inhabit the rivers and streams of the Washington area. The main purpose of the center is to host school groups, but the general public is welcome to come browse through the exhibits as well. If staff is available—DOEE biologists—they will show you around, otherwise you are on your own. When I visited, there was just one person working, so I spent about five minutes looking at the aquariums and was on my way. For more information, see the AREC web page.

While AREC is one of the few places in Anacostia Park where you will find some type of employee, it is not a visitor center, so don’t go inside and expect to get a park map or any other information about the park. There is a National Capital Parks East headquarters building located at the southern end of the park along with the U. S. Park Police headquarters, but this is an employee office and not open to the public either. For a map and other information, go to the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens Visitor Center, which is part of Anacostia Park.

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