The Vancouver Aquarium

When I was a kid I LOVED going to the Vancouver Aquarium. In fact I loved it there so much that I even had a birthday party there, which was amazing! If I remember correctly I got to feed the otters that day and under every party hat there was a plastic animal that was found at the aquarium. I remember I got a white seal. To this day I get excited when I see the Orca fountain in the front, that little child in me wants to run up to it and put my fingers under the velvet water pouring evenly over the brim. Unfortunately, or fortunately, they don’t have the killer whales anymore but they do still have their beluga whales, which are the big attraction these days. We sat in on the show and got to watch the beluga’s show off their fancy tricks and learn about how their future in at risk because of our deteriorating environment. With the climate changes occurring now the north is becoming warmer, the ice melting which is putting a lot of animals at danger. Scary. Other then the beluga whales the aquarium is also home to dolphins, otters, seals, and countless smaller fish and sea creatures! Both Brayden and Sydney enjoyed watching the otters and the dolphins swimming around through the underground viewing area. They would get right up in the window and watch them swim by over and over again.

We made our way through the larger animals before going through the interior exhibits at the aquarium and they were so amazing! The different colours, shapes and sizes of the starfish, sea anemones, and fish were amazing. Both Brayden and Sydney were drawn to the bright colours running from one tank to another looking at the crazy fish with the side ways mouth or the spiked sea cucumber. I think a few of the top crowd pleasers was the huge sea turtle swimming in a tank the size of our family room filled with sting rays, vibrant blue fish and starfish. The turtle would swim around, take a mouthful of sand and spit it out before going for another swim through the tank. I also loved the seahorses. They were in a smaller tank but there were a few different colours along with a sea dragon which looked like a long string of seaweed with a head on the end of it. It would float along in the tank hiding in the vegetation. The seahorses would use their tails and wrap around different rocks or vegetation like a monkey uses it's tail. Also the tiny little fin on the back was used almost like a boat motor shuttling them around to different destinations throughout the tank.

Without a doubt my favorite part of the aquarium was the jelly fish display. It told the developmental story of the jelly fish starting out with how the eggs are kept until they hatch. The next tank showed hundreds of tiny baby jelly fish swimming around fighting for space followed by a tank with jellies that would probably be compared to late adolescents.

This went on until the jelly fish were bigger then my head. By this stage the tanks were lit with this vibrant blue lighting which accented the white jelly fish so you could really see the different details and wisps as it floated through the water. The largest tank had these amazing orange jellyfish swimming around in a full length aquarium. They were so beautiful and mesmerizing as they flowed up and down catching everyones attention.

The afternoon at the aquarium was amazing. I couldn't believe how well the kids did and how long they lasted. They could have stayed even longer if there was more to see. I really hope that some of the animals that they saw today will be something that they will remember for a long time to come.