*'''Spring 2011''' Birch Aquarium at Scripps' Education Department is a recipient of the 2010 Diversity Award at UC San Diego.{{citation needed|date=May 2012}}
*'''Winter 2010''' For the second year in a row, San Diegans who participated in Museum Month visited Birch Aquarium at Scripps more than any other local museum.{{citation needed|date=May 2012}}
*'''Winter 2009''' CityBeat recognized Birch Aquarium at Scripps as the Best Place to Admire Sea Life Without Getting Wet in its seventh-annual “Best of San Diego” list.<!--here is the list: http://web.archive.org/web/20091117121113/http://sdcitybeat.com/cms/story/detail/readers_poll/8687/ I see no mention of birch, scripp, or wet (key words in the statement)-->{{citation needed|date=May 2012}}
*'''Winter 2008''' Executive Director Nigella Hillgarth is recognized as a 2009 Metro Mover to Watch by San Diego Metropolitan Magazine.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sandiegometro.com/2008/dec/movers19.php |title=New Energy At The Birch Aquarium |work=sandiegometro.com |publisher=San Diego Metropolitan |accessdate=May 20, 2012 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090217071634/http://sandiegometro.com/2008/dec/movers19.php |archivedate=February 17, 2009 }}</ref>
*'''Spring 2008:''' Birch Aquarium at Scripps is named San Diego's Best Children's Activity Center or Museum in Ranch & Coast magazine's third-annual "Readers' Choice: Best of 2008" survey.{{citation needed|date=May 2012}}
*'''Fall 2007:''' Feeling the Heat: The Climate Challenge exhibition is named the Silver winner in museum design for the 2007 Event Design Awards.{{citation needed|date=May 2012}} Sponsored by Connecticut-based Event Design Magazine, the annual awards recognize the best designs worldwide across events, exhibits and environments.