Hands-On at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

Last weekend we headed to 22nd Street Landing in San Pedro for Day At the Docks. We took the kids on board some of the local fishing boats to see what it's like, and since their Dad spends a lot of time on fishing boats, they were excited to see where he spends his time when he's away from home. Their favorite parts: the free hot dogs and candy, and the bunks on the overnight charter boats.

Once we finished up with the boat tours, we had lunch and made our way to the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. This was our second visit, but it's been quite a while since our first. This is hands down one of my favorite aquariums, in fact, I enjoy my visits here even more than The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Here's why: The walls are covered with facts and information about the ocean and the animals that inhabit the waters just outside our door. There's a giant poster with a drawing of a kelp plant, and at the root of the kelp plant, they've glued the approximate amount of all the tiny organisms and animals that live down in the sand, under water, thriving in the roots of kelp. And case after case offers something new to explore - seashells, fossils, sand dollars. One of my favorite displays is the preserved footballfish. This guy is odd and eerie, but amazing. He is the largest of his kind and only the 10th to be caught, according to records.

Footballfish Photo Courtesy of Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

The touch tank here is full of sea anemones and urchins and abalone and starfish and lots of other fun fish. But keep your hands out of the water on the backside - there are sharks in there! Once we were done at the touch tank, we met a group in the courtyard to hatch grunion. They distributed baby food jars of sand, seawater, and grunion eggs. We shook the jars as directed and sure enough right before our eyes, the tiny clear eggs popped into tadpole-like fish.

Throughout the aquarium you'll visit exhibits that focus on different areas of the ocean from kelp forests to sandy beaches to the open ocean. In the aquatic nursery you'll meet a baby octopus and tiny seahorses. The Exploration Center is a hands-on interactive area for kids to play with puzzles, costumes, coloring activities and more. Keep an eye out for the scavenger hunt list on the wall. And don't skip the library. They have a huge selection of books about all things aquatic and the children's section has coloring pages and tons of fun books to read.



Aquatic Nursery

 

 

Admission to the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is free but they do ask for donations. When you visit, please kindly contribute to keep this amazing aquarium open.

Make a day of your visit and head out to the surrounding area for a nature walk. Pick up the Walk Cabrillo guide located throughout the aquarium and follow the map to explore the Coastal Native Plant Garden, cliffs full of fossils, the salt marsh at Salinas de San Pedro, and tidepools at Point Fermin State Marine Park. Don't forget the sunblock!

For information on educational youth programs visit the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium website at http://www.cabrillomarineaquarium.org/education.asp.