I took three of my kids to the Seattle Aquarium last week. Alright, so maybe it’s not that big of a deal to you, but it is to our family. August (age .8) loves the aquarium, much more than the zoo. Déla (age 5) and Ciárán (age 4) also like it, but not as much. This day they were happy to go, of course, partly because it was the aquarium, but also just to get out of the house.
One of the first things we saw was the octopus, which was unusually active. My kids, like most in the area, gravitated towards the tank to get close to the creature. At one point Augsut mentioned he thought he could see the beak, but it was so crowded I couldn’t see much of anything. By the time I got around to the other side of the tank to get a better angle, things had changed considerably. Not only was the octopus in a different position, but Ciárán was actively trying to scare the poor creature.
We spent more time in the aquarium that we usually do, mostly for the fact that Laura wasn’t with us. While I’m not opposed to spending long chunks of time at these places (aquarium, zoo, etc.) my wife has other ideas. She always tries to get in and out in an hour. She also doesn’t try to see everything. I try to find a bit more middle ground, especially with the zoo, where I limit the choices, asking the kids which animals they want to see, and sticking to it. This is relatively easy since we go back to the zoo a few times a year wince we live about 30 blocks away. I don’t like to spend the whole day there, but I certainly don’t rush through it either.
As for the aquarium, it’s a little harder to get in and out in an hour. Part of this is due to the fact that you have to drive downtown to the waterfront and find parking. This in itself can eat up an hour. Since the aquarium is smaller, it’s easier to see pretty much everything in about an hour’s time, but those touch tanks are a massive draw and kids will spend hours and hours there if allowed. It’s a matter of finding a balance between simply blowing through there and getting back home and leisurely seeing what all people want to spend time with.
Because I had wanted to make this a “major” outing, I didn’t put any time constraints on our attendance. We did, however, make it out of the aquarium in just under two hours. I did need to get back to work, so I didn’t allow them to simply sit around, and did keep things moving forward, just at a more leisurely and enjoyable pace.
If you’ve never been to the Seattle Aquarium, I recommend it, but it just doesn’t hold up against the likes of The Monterey Bay Aquarium. It’s still pretty good though. In a few years, when the kids get older, we’ll more than likely drop our membership to the zoo and keep the aquarium one. The zoo has gotten almost antagonistic towards its membership base, but the aquarium has always remained open and friendly, but that should be the subject of another blog post.
One room is a large underwater dome, with only the entrance and exit not encased in glass with fish. It’s a cool room, and easily one of the best features of the aquarium. The kids loved walking around and looking at all the different fish as they swam around. Heck, I could spend a couple of hours myself in this room. This room, no matter what state August is in, will calm him. The ocean is clearly his element.
Along one panel a sea star was mounted in such a way as to enable clear visibility to its underside. This, as expected, was fascinating to the kids as they got to see more than just the suction cup bits underneath its arms. In full view was the mouth, or what appeared to be the mouth. No matter how I tried I simply couldn’t get a good picture of it. This alone was worth the trip to the aquarium. Well, that and watching Ciárán try to scare the octopus.
We ended our visit to the aquarium watching them feed the seals, watching the river otter sleep one of which was obviously dreaming) and a clear avoidance of the gift shop. Since I had time on the parking meter, I took them the short (but steep) distance up to the Pike Place Market for a stop at Daily Donut for a treat. Trust me, if you’re in Seattle, go there. A full trip to the Pike Place Market would have to wait for another day. Soon, though. For now, we were satiated with marine life.