A Sneak Peek at the Sea Life Aquarium

A few months ago we were so excited to learn that my son, Sam, was one of 12 local kids selected as “Young Environmentalists” for the new Sea Life aquarium after he submitted a drawing and an essay on the Sea Life Kansas City Facebook page.  My son LOVES sea creatures and we knew that we would love the aquarium when it finally opened. 

And I’m so happy to report that after getting a sneak peek this week, Sea Life definitely lives up to our expectations.  To quote my 7 year old, “It’s SO awesome!”  From the moment you walk in to the lobby area (shared with the Lego Land), it’s a dream come true for sea life enthusiasts young and old.  As you wander through the large aquarium you are treated to fresh water fish, tropical fish, rays, sharks, an octopus, lobsters, seahorses, and more.  It is beautifully done at every turn.

I asked Sam to pick his “Top 3” areas and here are his picks:

• The Touch Pool:  Kids (and parents!) can get up close and personal with sea stars, sea urchins, and horseshoe crabs in this amazing hands-on pool.  It was “so cool” how some of the urchins would “hug” your finger if you touched them and Sam was surprised at how rough the sea star skin felt.
• The Sting Ray Tank:  We spent most of our time in the sting ray room since they are my son’s favorite.  The large tank is filled with rays and a couple of really cool moray eels.  Kids can crawl through a little tunnel and peek into the tank from fish-level, or everyone can head up to the “dock” to look down on the rays as they glide through the water.  This was the room that Sam said he wanted to live in. 
• The “Sea Play” room:  This room features a fun play area, a “pop up” bubble where kids can stand inside of an aquarium and watch the fish swim around, and a dino/fossil dig area where kids can dig through a sand box to uncover the fossils.  The kids had a blast in this room. 

As a parent I loved the experience, too.  The aquarium is really beautiful and features a really wide variety of sea animals.  There are fun little hands-on activities throughout and plenty of educational facts that you can share with your children.  My son loved reading the “quiz” questions stationed throughout the aquarium to see if he knew the answers (and then it was fun to find the actual answers which were somewhere in the exhibit).  

Needless to say, I would highly recommend planning a trip to Sea Life sometime soon!   Sea lovers may want to consider a family pass…it will pay for itself in three visits for a family of four and I guarantee that once your kids visit once they will want to go back!  I know my son can’t wait.