Axolotl's Garden: Birch Aquarium's new fall exhibit

If you're looking for a morning out with kids this fall, Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla has a new reason to visit. The Axolotl's Garden opened on Thursday, October 22, and it's not just a single display — it's the start of six months of axolotl-inspired programming, and it's included with general admission, so there's no extra ticket to buy on top of your usual visit.

The star of the show is the axolotl, the critically endangered salamander that was historically found in the wetlands and lakes around Mexico City's Lake Xochimilco. Most people know them as pink, but in the wild they're typically brown or gray. They're famous for being able to regenerate body parts and for keeping their juvenile features into adulthood, a trait called neoteny. The name itself comes from an Aztec god, and the exhibit uses that as a jumping-off point to cover biodiversity, climate resilience, habitat loss, migration, transformation and care, blending animal encounters with contemporary art and conservation science.

There are two axolotl habitats, and they're joined by other Mexican species: the Tequila Splitfin, named for Volcán de Tequila and thought extinct in the wild in 2013 before being reintroduced at Teuchitlan Springs; the Firemouth Cichlid, native to Central America; and the Green Swordtail, found in Belize and Mexico. The whole thing is an expansion of the aquarium's Imagine Wild exhibition, and it's presented by The Lodge at Torrey Pines.

A lot of the character comes from the art. Mexican-American artist Itzel Islas, born in Tijuana and based in San Diego, put her touch on the entry courtyard with two axolotl cutouts, an illustration of Lake Xochimilco and axolotl murals. Maricruz Alvarado, born in Chihuahua and raised in Ensenada, created two ofrendas for Día de las Almas de las Mascotas on October 27, honoring lost pets and endangered species like the mountain yellow-legged frog, the vaquita and the loggerhead sea turtle with alebrijes. Indigenous Mexican and Puerto Rican poet Iyari Arteaga is presenting Axolotl Participatory Theater with UC San Diego theatre and dance students, and Grand Prestoz — Oscar Rios and David Mondragon — painted the signage that carries the motto "No Xochimilco, no ajolote. No ajolote, no Xochimilco."

Walking in is half the draw. You pass under a canopy of giant cloth monarch butterflies and past hundreds of handcrafted paper lanterns shaped like axolotls in gold, pink, brown and mottled gray, all made by the aquarium's exhibits team — more than half of whom are UC San Diego student artists — using sustainable, recycled materials.

If you want to go deeper, you can symbolically adopt an axolotl with a donation of $75 or more to the Birch Aquarium Husbandry Fund, which you do in person at the gift shop. The aquarium is at 2300 Expedition Way in La Jolla and opens daily at 9:00 a.m., with closing times that shift by season; it closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Online tickets are $34.95 for adults and $29.95 for children ages 3 to 12, with kids 2 and under free, and walk-up prices run a bit higher at $39.95 and $34.95. Group rates kick in for ten or more people, and annual membership starts at $89.