North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher

Since I was finally about to walk on my foot we decided to take a drive to the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher. The kids were really excited to be going to a museum and I was excited to be getting out of the RV. It was a little bit under a two hour drive but we didn't mind, especially since it was free to get in with our AZA reciprocity membership. Some of the pictures made it look a bit on the small side so we were a little worried we would be disappointed but boy were we WRONG!

We pulled in and immediately saw it was bigger then we thought. The kids were super excited to go in and we couldn't get in fast enough. The first section is set up more as a viewing area of animals. Princess really likes going up to the tanks and looking in at all the things. We got to see an Albino Alligator which was pretty cool. They also had a little table set up where we could see alligator skulls and learn things about the alligators.

While the first section was interesting we were really excited when we walked into the second area. It was full of great hands on activities that kids (and adults) just really love. We got to touch some sea anemone. There are a few videos at the end of the post of us touching them and making them go back in. They also had a spot to touch sharks. They are just little sharks that don't bite but it was still cool. I got a video of the kids petting them as well. There was some great info about turtles and how they hatch, how littering effect the sea life, and so much more. We all learned a lot.

They had a little show with a diver in a tank and you could talk to him while he was in the tank. I sat on a bench while we waited for the show to start while the boys went off to explore some other things in the same room. The little tank show was pretty neat and the kids really enjoyed sitting up close and learning stuff. Monkey was a bit bummed we didn't live close because they have a youth volunteer program there he was interested in. He is to young now but we will have to look for something similar when he is older. After the show the kids wanted to head outside to the playground for a bit. It was pretty chilly out so we didn't stay out long but it was a really neat play area.

We headed back in and the kids went back to pet the sharks a bit more. Cat Boy and Monkey decided they wanted to be crabs. We had a great time there and would recommend it to everyone. We will definitely go again if we find ourselves in the area again.