The Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific has been on my to-do with the kids list for years and we never got around to doing it until now. We planned to go right before school started up again and it turned out to be a great time to go. We arrived an hour or so after opening so it wasn’t too crowded. The girls we so excited to visit an aquarium. They were to young to remember their last trip.
There were so many things for the girls to explore. Starting with the interactive area where anyone can color their own fish and then it transfers to a large projection on the side of the wall. The kids wanted to come back to this spot multiple times.
The Jellyfish tanks were quite a hit with all of us. There was a large variety of Jellyfish all different shapes and sizes. These pictured were my favorite.
The map of the aquarium is also a fun game for kids. There are stamp stations set up around the aquarium and if you can get your book stamped at each station, you can take the book to the information desk and they give you a small prize. We got plantable bookmarks. We actually just tried planting one about a month ago, and it is beginning to take shape. Can’t wait to see the wildflowers grow from it.
The touch pools are really cool to see. This one pictured right, there can be a bit of a line to be able to get to it but it moved rather fast. You can touch, with two fingers, the starfish, coral and other sea urchins. There is also a moon jellyfish touch pool outside which is pretty amazing.
Let’s talk about the lorikeet birds you can feed. For a small fee, you can purchase a cup of the nectar these beautiful birds drink. The nectar is specially made for them since they have a soft food and liquid diet. These lorikeets have weak stomachs which have a hard time digesting hard foods like seeds.
When we walked in we didn’t know what to expect and Jewels was holding one of the nectar cups. A group of lorikeets jumped on her startling her and making her drop the cup. Like any kid would, the tears began to fall. After a short while, and a new purchase of nectar, Jewels got the courage up to feed the birds. She enjoyed it and wanted to go back in a second time.
The Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific is definitely a place for the whole family to enjoy together. We recommend going on weekdays and not during school breaks. There is so much to learn and explore so take the kids and make it a learning experience!
Visit the www.aquariumofpacific.org
for tickets, hours and more information.
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