10 Reasons to Visit the New England Aquarium

We love visiting zoos, nature centers and aquariums as a family. Years ago I wrote about our trip to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, which was amazing. Recently we were lucky enough to visit the New England Aquarium in Boston, and we had a blast! 

 

It had been a few years since we had visited and we were excited to see some of our old favorites. I could write pages about our day, but instead will highlight 10 reasons why you should visit the New England Aquarium if you have the chance.

African Penguin Colony

 

1. Penguins! One of the first animals you encounter upon entering the New England Aquarium are the endearing African Penguins. A bustling, and sometimes boisterous, group inhabits this enclosure that surrounds the Giant Ocean Tank, the four-story centerpiece to the aquarium. Hailing from temperate habitats, you won't see ice and snow here, but you will see a lot of interesting penguin behavior in the water and on the rocks. 

Photo credit: Vanessa Kahn, New England Aquarium

 

My kids love to learn about each of these penguins. It is easy to do as each is tagged with colorful armbands that serve as identification. Interactive screens located around the African penguin exhibit allow visitors to plug in the colors and location of the tags. Each penguin has a "bio" explaining its name, age, sex, and other interesting facts. 

Giant Ocean Tank

2. The Giant Ocean Tank is the amazing four-story centerpiece of the New England Aquarium. This enormous 200,000 gallon Caribbean reef tank holds hundreds of different fish. My kids loved seeing the giant rays taking their laps and discovering the different types of animals they could spot as we spiraled up towards the top of the tank. 

The aquarium educators at the top of the tank are available to answer questions and its fun to watch the feeding divers too. 

Photo credit: Vanessa Kahn, New England Aquarium

Myrtle the Turtle

 

3. An enormous green sea turtle! In 1970 a green sea turtle named Myrtle came to live at the New England Aquarium. You can still see her there today! It is such a treat to spot this gigantic turtle swimming around the Giant Ocean Tank or coming up to the top of the tank for some lettuce. She is a beautiful and amazing creature, somewhere between 70-90 years old and weighing in at over 500 pounds.

Photo credit: Vanessa Kahn, New England Aquarium

 

Sea Jellies

4. Sea Jellies! Even in a crowded aquarium, watching the Lion's mane jellies is a mesmerizing and calming experience. Native to colder regions of the ocean such as the Arctic and North Pacific, these jellies have a thick "mane" of hair-like tentacles to sting and catch prey such as small fish and crustaceans.

Giant Pacific Octopus

5. A visit to the New England Aquarium gives you the opportunity to see the largest species of octopus on the planet, the giant Pacific octopus. These super intelligent creatures can grow to be 20 feet long. We were lucky to see it put on a bit of a show right near the glass, as they can be a bit elusive. Stunning! 

Photo credit: Vanessa Kahn, New England Aquarium

Sea Lion Show

6. What a treat to watch the California sea lions show off their skills and learn about sea lion handling and training at the show in the Marine Mammal Center.  Not only endearing, intelligent, and entertaining, they are also talented in nature, able to swim faster than any other type of sea lion and dive underwater for up to ten minutes while they search for food. The whole family shared many smiles and laughs during this part of our aquarium visit. 

Please note if you do visit the New England Aquarium that the Marine Mammal Center is an open air exhibit area. It's open year round and if you come during colder months (like we did this time) you'll want to bundle up! 

Greeted by Harbor Seals

7. Before you even enter the aquarium you can observe the Atlantic harbor seal exhibit for free. The harbor seals are located in their enclosure in the front plaza. Get up close and personal with these playful creatures and even learn about them during feedings and training sessions before you even enter the aquarium. 

Photo credit: Vanessa Kahn, New England Aquarium

We enjoyed watching them swim and play in the morning when we arrived, and got a chuckle at them apparently asleep floating in an upright position when we left later in the afternoon. 

Shark and Ray Touch Tank

8. Unfortunately during our visit the Shark and Ray Touch Tank was closed. However, we did stop in the exhibit area to learn about sharks from an aquarium educator. I know if the touch tank had been open that day we would have really enjoyed it, it is a great space and one of few opportunities, unless you purchase a special Animal Encounter, to touch the ocean animals. 

Photo credit: Vanessa Kahn, New England Aquarium

Aquarium Timed Admission

9. The timed admission system at the New England Aquarium was great for planning. We could see how many people had purchased tickets during each of the 20 minute intervals the aquarium was open. We were able to plan exactly when we wanted to go in the night before. Admission was smooth and we entered the aquarium quickly without waiting in line. 

Parking in Boston can be tricky, however, there are several parking garages in close proximity to the aquarium. Several of them participate in parking validation at the visitor's desk in the aquarium. We used SpotHero and would highly recommend it. You can reserve a spot in a garage ahead of time, in some cases at a discounted rate, no searching for parking once you arrive! 

Location, Location, Location: Central Wharf

10. The New England Aquarium is located on Central Wharf, right on Boston Harbor. A great locale for a summer stroll on a part of Boston's Harborwalk, good eats, duck tours, lots of history, and close proximity to other great museums such at the Boston Children's Museum and the Boston Museum of Science. A great area to visit for a lot of learning and family fun. 

 

10 Reasons to Visit Chicago's Shedd Aquarium In Person or Online

One of our favorite family activities is visiting aquariums, zoos and museums. As a teacher, I'm also always looking for great educational resources from these institutions. A recent visit to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, provided an excellent in-person experience and plenty of online resources and virtual experiences to share with you.

Although difficult to narrow it down to just a few, I've created this list of 10 reasons why you absolutely must either visit the Shedd Aquarium in person or online.These will be especially interesting for those of you who teach about aquatic life, or simply love to learn about and experience it. 

This post contains affiliate links, please see disclosures for more information. 

Top Ten Reasons to Visit the Shedd Aquarium 

 

1. Bamboo Shark Eggs! 

This is a great example of the "little things in life" being some of the most interesting and impressive. Despite all of the other fantastic creatures and exhibits we observed at the Shedd Aquarium, one of my favorites of everything we saw were the bamboo shark eggs on display in the Wild Reef exhibit.

Bamboo sharks are small sharks that are found in shallow, tropical reefs. We were able to view the sharks in their tank right next to the examples of their eggs. You could actually see the baby sharks moving around in their eggs!

We learned that it takes around 4 months for the bamboo sharks to hatch, but the exact timing is due to temperature. The babies are able to survive on their own once they have hatched. 

Check out this short video clip from our visit. Keep an eye on the middle one, as that is the easiest to see move. They are even cooler in real life!



Wild Reef models the coral reefs of the Philippines. It is one of the main exhibits in the aquarium.  We really appreciated the fact that the exhibit not only housed the wildlife of the reef, but also described the culture as well. I think it is rare that an aquarium describes in such detail how the aquatic environment impacts the culture and economy of an area, and vice-versa.

It was also fascinating to see how the aquarium was cultivating coral for the exhibit, which exclusively features coral grown right at the Shedd Aquarium.

The reefs of the Phillipines are some of the most diverse coral reefs in the world. We saw some of our favorite colorful creatures here.

We found Dory! Can you find her too?

2. See dolphins up close!

We attended a live animal show that included observing the aquarium's Pacific white-sided dolphins. The dolphin tank and the aquatic shows are part of the Abbott Oceanarium, a fabulous space modeled after the Pacific Northwest coast.

After the show, the area cleared out and we had a few minutes where we could watch the dolphins swim, jump and dive without a huge crowd around. It was much more exciting than simply watching them behind glass. It was also interesting during the show to see firsthand how the dolphins are trained.

3. Fabulous Exhibits

The Shedd is absolutely a world class aquarium. The exhibit spaces were detailed, with excellent signage and understandable, accessible interpretation.

In addition to the Wild Reef and Abbott Oceanarium I mentioned above, there are several other large exhibits that make up the aquarium.

Amazon Rising takes you along the Amazon river during the rainy season when the forests are flooded. In addition to fish like piranhas, we spotted tiny Goeldi's monkeys, an anaconda (or the skin it last shed anyway, most of the large snake was hidden underwater) tarantulas and stingrays.

In addition to galleries on the life of the ocean, in lakes, in rivers and the local fauna of the Great Lakes, the Caribbean Reef is a must-see. It is also hard to miss it as this 90,000 gallon tank is the centerpiece of the main exhibit space of the aquarium.

4. Knowledgeable, Friendly Staff and World Class Research

I was so impressed with everyone we met at the aquarium. All had a smile on their face, a friendly greeting and were very knowledgeable. It was really a nice change of pace to visit a place where it truly seemed like everyone was happy and interested to be there!

The Shedd is a leader in conservation and aquatic research. From field work on the Great Lakes and in the Caribbean, and on-site research and breeding programs, the Shedd Aquarium works alongside and to inform the greater scientific community. Check out this link for a great launching point into the great work they do.

5. Virtual Field Trips

Maybe you can't actually visit the Shedd Aquarium, but you'd like your classroom or homeschool students to experience the aquarium. You're in luck because they offer virtual field trips for reasonable rates. Learn more here. 

6. Accessibility

The entire Shedd Aquarium is accessible so no one has to miss out. We found this very helpful as we visited with a young child in a stroller, which many others were doing as well. Although I was thrilled about the ability to travel anywhere with the stroller, I'd advise you give yourself a little extra time to get from place to place if you need to use the elevators. When the aquarium is busy there is often a short wait for them.

The Shedd also offers a Sensory Friendly App, with visitors with autism or sensory processing disorder in mind. Learn more about this app and accessibility at the Shedd Aquarium here.

7. Penguins!

Need I say more? Who doesn't like watching penguins?! It was our daughter's favorite spot.

We didn't experience the special Penguin Encounter program, but that looks fun too!

8. A National Historical Landmark

The facade of the beautiful Shedd Aquarium building has been named a National Historic Landmark by the National Parks Service. The building is just one part of Chicago's Museum campus, which is 57 acres along Lake Michigan and includes the Adler Planetarium, the Field Museum of Natural History, and Soldier Field. We enjoyed walking through the lovely park campus during our visit.

9. Classroom Clubs and Competitions

In addition to their regular education programs, school visits and the like, Shedd also offers cool opportunities like the NextGen Animal Responders program, a curriculum guide that brings animal rescue efforts to life, and the Underwater Robotics Club, several different STEM programs and resources for teachers that allow kids to delve into the engineering and design of underwater ROVs (remotely operated vehicles).

10. Citizen Science

If you're a regular reader of this blog, then you know how much we like citizen science! The Shedd Aquarium supports several citizen science projects, including working to save seahorses through iSeahorse, a project that anyone can participate in.

We really enjoyed our visit to the Shedd Aquarium and hope we get back to visit again one day! I hope that you get a chance to visit in person or online soon!

Psyched about Sharks?!

It is "Shark Week" on the Discovery Channel, an event loved by many and loathed by others. The scientific community has not always been positive about this annual television event, as it can lean toward fiction or sensationalism. We hope that the programming will be scientifically accurate, educational and entertaining.

Regardless of your personal opinions about TV programs about sharks, we can all agree that humans have had a long-standing fascination with sharks. In light of sharks in the news after recent shark attacks and the infamous "Shark Week", it seems like the right time to investigate some shark science and activities!

image: by Zac Wolf CC BY-SA 2.5

This post contains affiliate links, please see disclosures for more information. 

Researchers with the University of Hawaii and the University of Tokyo are using cameras mounted on shark fins to learn more about their behavior. For some great pictures from this work, check out Live Science's article here. One of the most fascinating things the scientists have learned is that throughout the day the sharks spend time in different depths of the ocean. They also have come to the conclusion that some sharks are actually positively buoyant. In other words, the sharks' physiology is such that they tend to float to the surface and have to work to keep themselves deep in the water.

There are many resources and activities out there for learning about sharks. Although school is out for the summer, these would be fun at-home investigations or great ideas for summer camp:

• The Shark Research Institute- Handouts for Teachers
• Chomp! An activity about shark tooth adaptations
• Shark Sizes- compare your height to the length of different sharks
• Sharks: Taking a Bite Out of the Myth. Use population data about sharks to better understand their behavior.
• A Shark's Sense of Smell. Discover how sensitive a shark's sense of smell is.
  
  
  

Read More:

• Live Science: Photos: Deep-Sea Shark Migrations Captured with Fin-Mounted Cameras
• Washingtonian: The Reasons Why Scientists Get Angry at Shark Week
• NPR: After Sketchy Science, Shark Week Promises to Turn Over a New Fin
• Newsweek: You're 100% Wrong about Shark Week