Virginia Aquarium is a FingersOn, Heavenly Knowledge

I went to Virginia Aquarium (previously named Virginia Marine Science Center) expecting to get in for free of charge, making use of my ASTC Passport Method card (which offers you free of charge admission to collaborating science museums about the nation).

Oops. Despite the "science" in the identify, Virginia Aquarium is really thought to be an aquarium (gee, probably that is why they changed the name?). So they do not honor science museum membership cards.

But for what it offers, Virginia Aquarium is not high-priced, and it really is effectively well worth the cost.

The highlights:

• 700,000 gallon tank(s)


• 300 hands-on exhibits and buttons to push


• "Alligators Alive" exhibit (via Could) featuring a reside albino alligator


• 3D IMAX movies


• Touch tanks exactly where you can touch and/or select up horseshoe crabs and starfish


• one/3 mile nature path wherever you can view bald eagles, ospreys, and other wildlife on the path or from the thirty-foot observation tower

At $11.95 for grown ups, it is fifty percent the price tag of the Baltimore Aquarium, and about 60% a lot less than the new Georgia Aquarium. (Plus, there are approaches to save on tickets. See below...)

So does The VA maintain its own with other fishy museums? Completely.

My preferred part? Their mesmerizing, two-tale, floor to ceiling fish "wall." The relaxation of the place and floor is darkish, and a natural hush would seem to drop on guests as they enter.

Sit there quietly, and you can imagine you happen to be at the bottom of the sea (with lots of oxygen, of program). It can be surprisingly calming to watch the fish swim gently by, and experience your cares wash absent.

My little ones particularly loved the touch tanks (if you might be a touch tank kind, you may want to verify out the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News). You may find sufficient to keep you (and the little ones) occupied for hours. And on a very hot day, it's blissfully air-conditioned.

The exhilaration at Virginia Aquarium does not cease at its walls. They also give a selection of really distinctive "extra" plans you are going to locate it difficult to match elsewhere:

• 
  Whale Watching - (End of Dec. by means of March) - Narrated by a specifically-educated VA educator, these excursions allow you look for humpback and fin whales off the coast of Virginia Seashore. Cost: $20 per grownup, $fifteen ages one-11.



• 
  Creek Cruise - (April - Sept.) Embark on a fifty-passenger pontoon boat for a 35-moment cruise of close by Owl's Creek Salt Marsh, the previous undeveloped salt marsh in Virginia Beach. Expense: $three.50 members, $5 non-members.



• Dolphin Cruises - (Might-Oct.) These ninety-minute excursions allow you see bottle nose dolphins in their normal habitats, in addition discover about VA's dolphin analysis. Price: $eighteen per adult.



• Seal Splash - (all year) This is the only system in the U.S. in which you can actually interact with harbor seals. Price: $125 per particular person.



• Fisherman's Island Loved ones Adventures - Check out the southern suggestion of Virginia's barrier islands to see the wildlife and learn about this critical ecosystem. Ages twelve and up only. Value: $12 for members ($fifteen for nonmembers).



• Ocean Collections - On this ninety-moment boat tour of the ocean, workers will bring up samples of sea lifestyle for you to see, find out about, and possibly touch. Expense: $eighteen per grownup, $14 (ages 1-11).

Virginia Aquarium has "a la carte" pricing.

Just the exhibits:

Adults: $11.95 Seniors: $ten.95 Children (three-11): $7.95

Exhibits + IMAX:

Grown ups: $sixteen.95 Seniors: $fifteen.95 Children (three-11): $twelve.95

IMAX Only*:

Grown ups: $seven.fifty Seniors: $six.seventy five Youngsters (three-eleven): $6.50.

*Note that function length IMAX tickets might be added.

Energetic army (but not their households or friends) get ten% off combination tickets (admission + IMAX® movie) with military ID.

Hours are 9 am to five pm day-to-day (Sept.-Might twenty five:) nine am to seven pm (May 26-August). It's closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

How to Get in For Significantly less

Last time I checked, Getaway Marketplace had a Virginia Aquarium "Happy Hour" coupon on the bottom of its brochures. The coupon permits you to purchase 1 ticket and get the second 1 at fifty% off if acquired involving Noon and two pm (great every day).

Visitor guides-like the "Sunny Day Guide," obtainable at eating places, accommodations, and in stands along Atlantic Boulevard and Virginia Seaside-often have coupons great for $2 off a combo ticket, or $one off exhibit admission.

1 of the greatest things about Virginia Aquarium is that it is so convenient to the Virginia Seashore oceanfront, thanks to the Virginia Beach Trolley (acknowledged as "The Wave.") You can catch the trolley from numerous stops along the oceanfront and cease appropriate outside the museum.

The Virginia Aquarium is positioned at 717 General Booth Boulevard in Virginia Seashore. For details, phone 757-385-FISH (3474) or go to http://www.virginiaaquarium.com.