We had a fantastic time at the aquarium today! We started with a behind the scenes tour (no photos allowed) to find out how the aquarium runs behind the scenes. We learned so much about what goes on to keep the animals healthy, tanks and water clean and running, and how much food the animals require. Did you know that the aquarium makes their own salt water?? There is also quite a lot of chemistry needed to keep tanks running at the correct levels. We observed where the workers dive into the tank to clean and take care of the large tank, and threw some food into the bait ball tank. We saw food prep kitchens and stood inside a massive -5 degree freezer (that was really stinky!) full of food for the animals. We met Pam and Izzy, the rescued sea turtles, and observed four different points of view of the “bait ball” tank, which is the largest tank at 90,000 gallons of water. The bait ball tank receives two shipments a year of a couple thousand fish each. We found out that when animals die at the aquarium, they are sent to the vet to be autopsied to make sure they didn’t have any disease or other concerning ailment that killed them. Ask your child their favorite part of the behind-the-scenes tour, and ask them to tell you more facts about what goes on to keep the place running.

After our behind the scenes tour, we had our live animal class. During this class, we learned more about animal adaptations with some Wonders of Wildlife animals. First up, we met Estella the Fennec Fox and Matt the Arctic Fox, and compared their features that help them survive in their environments. Then we met Bob, the ornate box turtle, who is about 25 years old, and observed how his body helps him survive. We noticed his red eyes, which help him find a girlfriend (no, he doesn’t have one yet). Next up was Alex the Great Plains Rat Snake who uses mimicry, where he mimics other snakes to help him survive. Alex can sometimes look like a copperhead snake with his markings, and he can open his mouth up and down and side to side that helps him swallow prey that is larger than his head. Alex uses his tongue to help him figure out what smells are around him and decide the temperature. Quinn the African Hedgehog was our next guest. She has about 400 quills made of keratin and doesn’t release them like a porcupine. Quinn is about 5 years old and is nocturnal. To help her survive in her environment, she has large eyes, big ears, a long pig-like nose, and will curl into a ball to protect herself from predators. Quinn’s favorite food is meal worms, and she loves to chew them up, spit them up, and then lick them all over her body. She rubs the chewed up meal worms on her quills and belly so that she will smell like meal worms, and not a hedgehog. We took a vote, and Bob was our favorite animal! To find out how various species of birds have adapted to be able to find food, we practiced using different tools to find out which works better for the different types of birds. Then, we made “Vulture Vomit,” which we found is how vultures protect themselves, by vomiting on their predators. 

After lunch, we went back through the aquarium to visit the sea stars and sea anemone in the touch tank. We enjoyed watching the stingrays being fed from the viewing platform above, and observed the jellyfish and other animals before visiting the stingrays one last time. Some of us were able to touch the stingrays AND a shark! 

We are so happy we were finally able to take this trip!

Check out some photos here!