If your little ones have a passion for marine life or want to learn more about our ocean neighbors, an aquarium pensacola may be just the place to visit. These popular Florida locations not only house beautiful sea creatures, they also offer education programs and a wide variety of additional activities such as snorkeling experiences, paint experiences, feedings and more. Some even offer field trips and camps for kids to really expand their knowledge and experience of the ocean.
Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City Beach is a beach front marine park that offers dolphin encounters, shows and a lot more. Their dolphin stadium has 12 bottlenose dolphins that perform scheduled shows and the aquarium itself houses turtles, stingrays, a jellyfish wall and much more. There is a lot to see and do here and the park often hosts events and birthday parties.
This location is a lot more than just an aquarium, it’s also a sanctuary for alligators and other reptiles. They have a whole Expedition Trail that takes you through their park where you can see the animals, many of which are not sea creatures at all, but land animals such as birds, tortoises and of course alligators. They also have an animal hospital on site that rehabilitates injured wildlife and they offer a variety of educational experiences to guests.
The Florida Aquarium in West Palm Beach is more of a museum than just an aquarium but they still have tons of fun things to do. They have a planetarium, laser light shows and more that your kids will love. Their main aquarium includes Shipwreck Cove, a predator tank that is home to sharks, a giant spotted moray eel and fierce barracudas. They also have a touch tank where you can see and hold conchs, giant hermit crabs and more.
ICON Park, located in Orlando, is a family friendly attraction and a huge marine life exhibit. It boasts the state’s only 360-degree ocean tunnel, a coastal rock pool, jellyfish wall and more. There are also hands on interactive exhibits that allow you to interact with stingrays, hand-feed octopi and explore an underwater sea tunnel. This aquarium also has a theater-in-the-tank that has 3D films to enhance the experience and make it more immersive.
SEA LIFE Orlando is a great spot for kids, it’s more of a hands on educational aquarium than your typical walk-through aquarium but it still has plenty of fun. They have a huge touch tank that is home to various fish, sea stars and other creatures and they offer a variety of educational interactions such as Explosive Chemistry, Wild Physics and Wacky Engineering.