Visiting The Florida Aquarium

By Jonathan Heath

Enjoy a fun filled day with the family at one of Tampa’s most popular attractions, the Florida Aquarium. The Florida Aquarium is filled with exciting galleries and exhibits for kids and adults.

Adults are admitted for $19.95, seniors sixty and over for $16.95, children for $14.95 and little ones two and under get in for free. Handicapped parking is available and a limited number of wheelchairs are available for rent in the lobby making the facility accessible to all.

There is so much to see and do that many visitors find themselves becoming members and make many return trips. Beginning inside the aquarium, the Wetlands Gallery provides a glimpse into Florida’s wetland ecosystem the way nature intended it to be.

Over 30 species of birds are free to fly overhead as alligators, crocks, sharks and more roam amongst the wetlands. A cave entrance, streams, saw grass marshes, rivers, hammocks, cypress swamps, mangrove forests and sunlight are featured also in the exhibit.

The Bays and Beaches Gallery lets kids interact while exploring the exhibit. Featuring Florida’s bays, bay bottoms and beaches, this exhibit is filled with creatures that are native to Florida and beyond. The fun doesn’t stop there. Visitors should also be sure to explore the aquariums Ocean Commotion and Coral Reef Exhibits.

A trip to Florida’s Aquarium wouldn’t be complete without a walk through the four exhibits. Aquariumania! shows visitors the pleasures that a home aquarium can bring.

Visitors learn about salt water and fresh water tanks, where aquarium fish come from and how to protect reef habitats. Come Splash in the Water gives visitors 6 and up a scuba lesson as they explore a reef dive site. Other exhibits include Dragons Down Under and No Bone Zone, both fully equipped to educate and amaze.

There are many activities both inside and outside of the aquarium designed to give visitors a feel of Florida’s ocean life with a little education along the way. Visitors can choose from 7 activities including the exciting Explore a Shore, walk through the Penguin Promenade, Check out the Behind the Scenes Tour, Dive with the Sharks, Ecotour Photos, Swim with the Fishes and Wild Dolphin Ecotours.

Kids especially delight in Explore a Shore constructed of a 24 foot pirate ship complete with squirtable water cannons. Kids can hunt for buried treasure, discover a manatee, dolphin and shark or shipwreck while peering through a telescope.

They can climb up a rock structure, go on a cave adventure and crawl through the Surf’s Up Wave Tunnel and slide down a waterslide. This exhibit does get pretty wet so a bathing suit is needed. There is even a Shipwreck Shore designed only for toddlers.

The whole family can enjoy valuable time together outdoors on the Dolphin Ecotours. This ecotour educates visitors about Tampa Bay and its wild inhabitants. The Bay Spirit II, a 72 foot catamaran takes boat goers on a 90 minute excursion around the bay, one of Florida’s best places to see dolphins in their natural habitat.

This activity, as well as some others in the aquarium cost extra and tickets should be purchased in advanced. A trip to Florida’s Aquarium requires visitors to be fun loving and adventurous.

About the Author: Tampa-attractions.com has a variety of information on the Tampa area covering attractions such as the

Glazer Children’s Museum”

and other

Tampa Bay museums

. Visit http://www.tampa-attractions.com to get free tips and information.

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