Berta’s sister’s family was in town for the weekend, and on Saturday we packed up everyone and trekked over to Adventure Aquarium in Camden.
They’re making some changes at the aquarium, or at least they have since the last time we visited. We had to enter through a different entrance, and there was a lot of construction. Still, the aquarium was in plenty good enough condition to make the trip worthwhile.
Luring the kids to the aquarium required a certain baiting. “Do you want to see the sharks?” Of course they want to see sharks. How difficult will it be to find sharks? And will they care by that time?
Unlike the zoo, where every animal is different, the aquarium is just… fish. Right? I mean, I recognize the diversity between fish. But does the kind of knowledge that lets you distinguish between tuna and fluke have much value outside of fishing and marine studies?
As it turns out, there are many other animals at the aquarium besides fish - rays, crustaceans, turtles, penguins… and hippos. Some had more interest for the kids than others.
We had great fun looking through the huge glass windows at the schools of tuna and the giant turtles. The seahorses hid by wrapping their tails around the seaweed. The giant lobsters fought each other in their tank with their saber-like antennae. Giant rays glided by, their odd faces split between the top and bottom of their bodies.
We had to actually go on a quest to see the sharks. Usually there is a special area in the aquarium where you can actually pet sharks, but this exhibit was closed for renovation, to be reopened in a couple of months.
The actual shark exhibit was in wing D, which was a new addition to the aquarium since out last visit. The aquarium was (supposedly) laid out in ascending climactic order. First comes generic fish, then some more interesting crustaceans, then some big rays, fish, and turtles. Then you move on to hippos, jellyfish, and finally, sharks.
So as we made our way to the sharks - the big payoff we’d been promising the kids all day - we passed through the hippo pen. The hippo area is a neat environment for them. It has both above-water areas and a window on the water tank so that you can see them swim. The hippos were so neat that Riley wanted to go see them again after we had seen the sharks.
We did finally see the sharks. The shark tank was really neat. There is a glass tube that runs under the shark tank that you can walk through. The sharks swim over the tube, and you can see them out the sides and from below. You could see them very close, and one of the sharks even had some fearsome-looking exposed teeth.
The aquarium apparently allows patrons to pay to swim with the sharks. They have an area where you can don diving equipment and jump in. The staging area is visible from the walkway through the exhibit, and you can see the instructional whiteboard where they written all sorts of rules of “What to do when…”. Seems kind of crazy, but probably still a great experience.
Of course, we stopped back through the hippo exhibit before we left, and found the hippos standing in the dry area looking for food. They eventually jumped back into the water, which was interesting to see, since the drop-off seemed very steep for creatures with such short legs. I would have liked to see them climb out to see how easily they do it.
With the successful trip, we returned home with pleasant fishy memories and a few pictures.
