I grew up within walking distance from the New England Aquarium. Talk about being spoiled! I have so many fond memories from our visits. The NE Aquarium was dark and full of mysterious marine life. I now live in Southern California and in my opinion, we have some of the best aquariums in the country! The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach is a wonderful indoor/outdoor aquarium with tons of activities for families. There are fifty exhibits there and they have more than 11,000 animals from the Pacific Ocean. The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach is the perfect place for families to explore and learn about the amazing life in the Pacific Ocean.
Make sure to grab the map & visitor guide on your way in! The guide offers information about the aquarium’s daily presentations, films, and information about the oceans around us. Visitors can emboss their booklet. Kids love searching for the embossing stations throughout the aquarium. Keep this booklet as a memento of your trip.
You can easily spend a day visiting The Aquarium of The Pacific. This is a list of our must sees for you and your kiddos!
The aquarium opened their first ever penguin exhibit this year! The June Keyes Penguin Habitat is home to to 13 Magellanic penguins. This breed of penguins are from South America and a few of the exhibit’s penguins were rescued from Brazil. Each penguin can be easily identified by their color coded and labeled ID Tags. This was fun for my daughter. Her favorite penguin is named Noodles. Also, children seemed to really enjoy the crawl in space which gives viewers a different view of the penguins. Visitors can also get a behind-the-scenes animal encounter allowing them feed and training session for an extra fee (must be at least 10 years of age.)
Make sure to visit Bixby, she’s the first harbor seal born at the Aquarium of the Pacific. She’s adorable and ready to be “ooohed” and “awwed” over at the Seal & Seal Lion Habitat!
Bixby, daughter of Harbor Seals Troy and Shelby, in the Seal and Sea Lion Exhibit. Photo Courtesy of Aquarium of the Pacific / Hugh Ryono
Get close to the Lorikeets in the Aquarium’s Lorikeet Forest. Did you know that a Lorikeet’s diet is nectar? For $3 your family can feed the colorful birds. My daughter loved feeding them and was thrilled when one walked on her arm!
Shark Lagoon is a hands-on exhibit featuring over 150 sharks. Visitors can appreciate Zebra Sharks and Sand Tiger Sharks here through the large viewing window. For those who want to touch a shark, go check out the Touch Tanks. There is a large exhibit to get a glimpse with are touch pools for visitors to touch sharks and sting rays. During the really hot days there is a fun water area for kids to cool off in. Make sure to bring a change of clothes!
The Sea Otters are my favorite plus the most expensive exhibit to maintain. These guys eat ALOT but they are a-dorable. Sea Otters have an exceptionally thick coat of fur, the densest in the animal kingdom. Make sure you check out their show as the sea otters get fed, play and show you that they know their shapes.
At the entrance of the Baja Gallery is The Honda Blue Cavern. Definitely catch a Dive Show. Watch as divers feed the fish in this beautiful tank. Divers talk about the species that travel through the northeastern coast of Santa Catalina Island. You might even get a “high-five” from a diver! Kids love this!
Throughout the aquarium families will discover other hands-on stations. Kids can touch starfish and jellyfish and there is a theater with fun shows. There are plenty of restrooms, baby changing areas, snack huts and easy parking. We usually end our day by taking a short walk over to adjacent Shoreline Park. Kids enjoy the grassy areas and the lighthouse. There are also scenic views of the Queen Mary.
– Tee
Visit http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/ for to plan your visit.
* We did not receive monetary compensation for this review. Tee received complimentary tickets from the Aquarium of the Pacific to facilitate this review. Giveaway item will be provided by sponsor. The review is in our own words and is our opinion. Your results and opinions may differ. All photos taken by Tee Burgess unless otherwise noted.
6 comments
I’ve never been to the aquarium, but it just got bumped up on my list.
I love the Aquarium of the Pacific. It think it’s one of Southern California’s gems, really.
Feeding the Lorrikeets are my absolute favorite. We LOVE the aquarium of the pacific!
That looks like such a fun day! Thanks for showing it off!
I love, love the Aquarium of the Pacific. We have annual passes and take all of our out of town visitors there. The marina is fun place to hang out as well. We go there sometimes to ride bikes.
We love the aquarium in Long Beach! I still haven’t made it over there to see the new penguin exhibit. Maybe we’ll go next month! Loved all the pics! Great post!