Aquarium of the Pacific

Let me say right up front: I am a seasoned veteran of the elementary school field trip. Since I am the mom of three, and I have been going on approximately three to four field trips a year since my 15-year-old was in preschool…well, you do the math.

Some of these school excursions have been educational, pleasant, and even fun. Plays and museum trips rank up there among my favorite memories. Others–like the time I chaperoned fifteen hyper second-grade boys on a three-hour hike around a hot, humid, mosquito-ridden swamp–not so much.

Fortunately, my son Will’s recent field trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific, located in beautiful coastal Long Beach, falls into the former category. With the exception of a little glitch at the tail end of the trip involving one broken-down school bus (we’ll get to that a little later), the experience was definitely enjoyable, certainly educational, and–I can’t believe I’m actually writing this–even RELAXING. How often can you say THAT about a trip anywhere with nearly 100 eight-year-olds??

Will’s 3rd grade class at the Aquarium of the Pacific

Long Beach is less than an hour’s drive from my son’s school in Burbank. But, let’s face it, an hour can seem an awful lot longer when you’re bouncing around inside an uncomfortable school bus with hordes of screaming school children and you can barely hear yourself think. Which is why my friend Elvia and I had the GENIUS idea to follow the school bus to its destination in the relative quiet and luxury of my own SUV (since we weren’t “official” chaperones, we were able to do this). Elvia’s son Chandler and my son, who are buddies, sat together in the back of the bus and kept turning around and waving to us during the drive down. So, we could keep an eye on them without having to deal with all the stress and madness of actually being on the bus itself–the perfect solution!

We arrived at the aquarium shortly after 10 a.m. on a sunny, mild, perfect Southern California day. There were many busloads of students from other schools waiting to get in, so we ended up milling about outside for about half an hour, which was a great opportunity to take group class photos and burn off a little extra energy running around on the well-manicured lawns.

Once we were finally ushered inside, we were directed straight into the Honda Theater, where we were treated to an educational presentation in the form of a bingo game/mystery adventure which taught Will and his classmates how to identify different fish. It was led by a perky and enthusiastic young woman who definitely knew how to keep the kids entertained!

Following the presentation, we were free to roam about the aquarium as we wished. Will and I decided to take off on our own, and we headed straight for the shark lagoon, where we marveled at the size and power of these intimidating creatures of the deep. And we were more than a bit relieved at the thick wall of glass which separated us from them!

Tropical Pacific Gallery

The Tropical Pacific Gallery houses an enormous 350,000-gallon tank that is home to amazingly colorful fish and a coral reef. We were able to watch divers feeding the animals and cleaning the tank, and the kids got a big kick out of the divers swimming right up to the glass and waving to them!

One of Will’s favorite exhibits was the sea otter habitat, where we laughed at the antics of these furry aquatic clowns, as they floated about on their backs, grooming their thick fur, and shelling food with their amazingly humanlike hands while using their bellies for tray tables! We were astounded to find out that an adult male sea otter eats as much as fifteen pounds of food in a single day. (That’s nearly as much as my fifteen-year-old son.)

I personally enjoyed most the incredible sea jelly and seahorse exhibits located in the Tropical Pacific Gallery. The jellyfish tanks were full of a nearly infinite variety of species, from huge Man O’ Wars to tiny luminous jellys barely the size of a quarter. Their unearthly, translucent beauty absolutely captivated Will and me as we watched them slowly floating up and down in ephemeral masses. The tanks are backlit so that the groups of sea jellies actually seem to be giving off their own glowing, pulsing light. The fragile, exotic Sea Dragons fascinated us with their leafy, weedy-looking appendages that allow them to camouflage themselves in seaweed.

West Coast Nettles, a species of sea jelly

Children will get a big thrill out of actually getting to touch sea creatures at the Stingray Touchpool, located outside in the Southern California/Baja Gallery. The exhibit contains Bat Rays, Shovelnose Guitarfish, and California Halibut. We were instructed to touch the creatures very gently with only two fingers and not to grab or scratch them. We learned that the rays’ diet consists of shrimp, squid, sardines and clams, and that they are only fed one percent of their body weights each day. Though they look scary, the rays are actually docile creatures and pose little danger to humans. Following this close-up encounter, we were made to scrub our hands thoroughly at the outdoor washing station.

They are not ocean-dwellers like the rest of the amazing creatures we were able to observe, but the brightly-colored birds of the Aquarium’s Lorikeet Forest were another big highlight to this fun and informative day. This aviary is home to approximately 140 beautiful lorikeets sporting vivid gold, red, yellow, orange, purple and green feathers. Will and I learned that lorikeets do not eat solid food and drink only nectar, and that if we purchased a cup of their favorite drink upon entry, the birds would come and perch on our arms to enjoy a little sip. This is a huge hit with the kids and also makes for a terrific photo opportunity!

A brightly-colored Lorikeet waiting for its cup of nectar

Following an outdoor lunch and some more running about on the lawn (it’s tough to tire out a bunch of third-graders), we had a little extra time to revisit any parts of the Aquarium that we had missed or wished to see again. Then it was time to load the rugrats back up onto the three schoolbuses and head home.

Except there was just one little problem.

One of the school buses decided it wasn’t going to start. The “Wheels On The Bus” were definitely NOT going round and round.

That left two operating buses for three buses worth of students, teachers and chaperones. After much chaos and shuffling around, somehow the teachers managed to cram the extra students into the two buses left. However, that left a lot of displaced chaperones. Suffice it to say that it was a good idea that my friend and I had driven ourselves, since I ended up taking four other parents besides ourselves home. Some other parents also volunteered their cars, and between the lot of us, everyone managed to make it home to Burbank safely.

And we didn’t even have to listen to endless rounds of “Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall…”

Aquarium of the Pacific is located at 100 Aquarium Way in Long Beach, CA and is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily: www.aquariumofpacific.org.

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Aquarium of the Pacific Long Beach, CA

Today I finally took my 16 month old son to the Aquarium of the Pacific on 100 Aquarium Way in Long Beach, CA. We had a field trip planned with my Mommy & Me class and I was excited to bring my son for the first time. He’s such a little explorer, so I knew he would love it!

We met out front by the fountain which is available for kids of all ages to play in and around. The place is surrounded by water and all of the local sights of the Pacific. As we approached the entrance we were greeted by the sound of simulated whale voices. We had a discounted rate with our class, so we got in for only $6 a piece! Not bad, when the going rate for an adult is about $25 and $12.95 for kids ages 3-11. I plan on returning with my husband next time, but instead of paying the full $50 for us both to get in, I’ll use my “buy one-get one” coupon that I found in my local Entertainment Book.

There’s a parking garage that’s very close, but be prepared for another $8 for parking. Out front, you can book a dolphin or whale watching boatride tour. Right across the street is the Mai Tai Bar and Bubba Gump Shrimp Restaurant.

Bubbagump Restaurant and Shopping area

As you enter the Aquarium, you can’t miss the huge whale they have suspended from the ceiling. It’s absolutely incredible to see and certainly makes you feel insignificant in comparison to its size.

Whale at the Entrance of Aquarium of the Pacific

With a 16 month old, it’s really tough to take in all that the Long Beach Aquarium has to offer, but we managed to see quite a few attractions while we were there. We saw so many different exotic fish, starfish, octopi, jellyfish, seahorses, sea otters and sting rays and our son Christian loved staring at them through the glass. We were lucky enough to catch one of their fish feeding frenzies as the scuba divers swam among them inside the tank while dispensing their food.

Aquarium of the Pacific Water Tank

There were 3 scuba divers inside the aquarium with all of the different fish, including huge sting rays that routinly swam close to the glass walls. They were devouring the heads of lettuce in the divers’ hands as one tour guide communicated back and forth with them about information on each of the different fish. This actually caught Christian’s attention for a little while.

One of Christian’s favorite places to hang out was the aquarium with simulated ocean waves. The water would sway back and forth while carrying the fish, starfish and sea life around the tank. He spent a great deal of time here and couldn’t get enough! He was fascinated by the movement.

Amazing variety of Sea Life

Later we walked by an area called the “Coastal Corner” where one of the guide was teaching children about the sea life variety. This area offered an opportunity for children to reach out and touch the sea creatures! There were all sorts of starfish, crabs and fish for them to touch while they learned all about each of them.

My son reaching out to touch the school of fish

After taking in many of the exhibits, we decided to take a break outside at a play area for children. We passed by a pool where children were touching sting rays and sea otters during the show happening below. We didn’t actually have time to participate because it was time to feed my son, so we just hung out while the kids played after lunch. They had a wonderful time playing on the sea creature play structures that spouted water.  There was also a boat they could climb into and play with the steering wheel while they pretended to navigate.

Overall, I found that the Long Beach Aquarium was very baby and kid friendly. Our entire Mommy & Me class had strollers, so thankfully, there were elevators everywhere. As I am 8 months pregnant, I also found that all of the bathrooms were easily accessible with a stroller.

Our Mommy and Me Group at Aquarium of the Pacific

Each of the different exhibits were not only kid friendly, but toddler friendly. My son was able to run around and look at all of the different fish and sea life through the glass without having to worry about him getting hurt or destroying anything. Our entire class was able to park our strollers outside of different exhibits and take our toddlers inside to run around and explore. My son loved his new found freedom to explore and discover new things. I brought plenty of snacks for my little one, but they also had a small snack bar and a decent size gift shop for sea-life collectibles perfect for kids. I was very impressed with all that the Long Beach Aquarium had to offer and definitely plan for all of us to return including my husband!