This past weekend our family headed to Connecticut to visit the Mystic Aquarium. I never heard about the Mystic Aquarium until about a year ago and since then I have heard rave reviews so we decided to take the 2 hour drive south for the day. The boys went to the Boston Aquarium a few months ago and besides the fact that half of it being under construction they had a blast so I couldn’t wait to bring them to the Mystic Aquarium to see the Beluga Whales, African Penguins, Sea Lions, and fish.
I didn’t realize that all of the big animals are outside so if you plan to visit make sure to check the weather and dress for the occasion. When we arrived it was drizzly out and light rain continued for the entire visit, but it was nothing too bad and walking in the rain didn’t even phase the boys, the aquarium was pretty busy for being rainy out.
We arrived about 11am and everyone was hungry from the drive so we decided to visit the Penguin Cafe for lunch, the cafe offered quite a variety including pizza, burgers, fries, onion rings, yogurt, salads, sandwiches and snacks. We were supposed to have pizza for dinner but instead the boys wanted it for lunch, we all enjoyed cheese pizza and dad also got a cheeseburger.
After we enjoyed our lunch at the Penguin Cafe we headed off to the Titanic – 12,450 Feet Below exhibit, while dad and I enjoyed reading about the history of the titanic the boys enjoying checking out the two story Titanic’s engine room, talking back and forth with the speaking tubes, spinning the wheels, and pressing all the buttons and gadgets. The pretend submarine was also a huge hit, especially being able to climb down the ladder into it.
After we checked out the Titanic – 12,450 Feet Below exhibit we headed to head next door and watch the SpongeBob SquarePants 4D movie. The boys have never seen a 4D movie, but they are familiar with the movie theaters and 3D so they were anxious to watch it, especially with the well-known character, SpongeBob. The movie plays all day long which is great with young children as the there is little to no wait, the show is only 5-7 minutes long, but is full adventure. The 4D affects made you feel like you were in the movie, the chairs shook, bubbles were blown, water was squirted and Jacob’s favorite part, the smell of pickles filled the entire room.
After the 4D movie, the rain stopped for a little bit so we decided to head outside and start checking out the animals. As we walked around we got to see the Beluga Whales, African Penguins, Sea Lions, Seals and Frogs. We then headed inside to the main gallery which was filled with fish, reptiles, and even a few touch pools including the Sting Ray Touch Pool and Shark Touch Pool, Tyler was all about touching the sharks and sting-rays and it was hard to get him away from the area.
Last we headed to the Foxwoods Marine Theater to watch the Sea Lion Show, mine and Tyler’s favorite part of the day. While the boys enjoyed the show watching all four of the sea lions do tricks I enjoyed learning about the difference of seals and sea lions, something I did not previously now.
Overall, we had an amazing Mother’s Day weekend at the Mystic Aquarium, I wish it was not so far away as our family would love to visit more often. I look forward to the next time we visit and hopefully it will be a little sunnier out.
To purchase tickets or to learn more about the Mystic Aquarium visit http://www.mysticaquarium.org/.
*Tickets & Meals were provided.
