Museum sleepovers have become one of our favorite parts of summer. Two years ago, Meg and I participated in the Smithsonian Sleepover at the American History Museum, which you can read about here. Last year, Meg, Clare and I slept over at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, which you can read about here. This year we tried something different. Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth hosted at sleepover at the Baltimore Aquarium. Meg and Clare were anxious to participate.
The girls have always loved aquariums. For years, Meg informed everyone she would one day be a marine biologist. As a preschooler, she regularly watched Jonathan Bird's Blue World. We have made regular visits to the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut and the Woods Hole Aquarium on Cape Cod. Five years ago (I can't believe it has been that long!), we took an Oceanquest Hands On Discovery Cruise out of Woods Hole. An overnight at the Baltimore Aquarium was undoubtedly a great fit for us.
Our sleepover started with dolphins. After dropping off our bags, we headed to the Dolphin Discovery Amphitheater. We spent our time with the two male dolphins, Beau and Foster, and quite simply fell in love. Foster has an adorable underbite that makes him easy to identify. Beau is big and friendly. The moment captured in the first image below in which both Beau and Foster simultaneously put their chins on the edge of the pool was perhaps our favorite point of the evening.
The girls have always loved aquariums. For years, Meg informed everyone she would one day be a marine biologist. As a preschooler, she regularly watched Jonathan Bird's Blue World. We have made regular visits to the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut and the Woods Hole Aquarium on Cape Cod. Five years ago (I can't believe it has been that long!), we took an Oceanquest Hands On Discovery Cruise out of Woods Hole. An overnight at the Baltimore Aquarium was undoubtedly a great fit for us.
Our sleepover started with dolphins. After dropping off our bags, we headed to the Dolphin Discovery Amphitheater. We spent our time with the two male dolphins, Beau and Foster, and quite simply fell in love. Foster has an adorable underbite that makes him easy to identify. Beau is big and friendly. The moment captured in the first image below in which both Beau and Foster simultaneously put their chins on the edge of the pool was perhaps our favorite point of the evening.
Following our dolphin experience and a filling make-your-own-tacos dinner, the girls participated in an animal rescue exercise. They were given a turtle with accompanying information that they needed to diagnose and treat. This experience was both a great hands-on activity and an opportunity to get to know some of the other children better. We met families from Texas, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
After the classroom experience, we were given an in depth tour of the aquarium. One of our favorite areas was the Rainforest exhibit in which visitors walk through the habitat itself, so birds, toads and frogs were all around us. We, sadly, did not spot one of the four sloths in the exhibit, but we did see a lot of birds, which Clare loved.
While exploring the more traditional aquarium exhibits, we were excited to see an eel move much more than it typically does (at least that is what we were told).
Another treat during this part of the tour was seeing a tiny, baby star fish. Yes, that is what the dot just above the finger is in the picture below.
One of our more unusual opportunities during the sleepover was being allowed to walk across the catwalk over the shark tank. This is how employees at the aquarium feed the sharks. The kids were definitely a little nervous walking out on the catwalk. No one could have exposed toes. We could not take any extra bags. The only thing we could hold was our camera and we were warned that if the camera dropped, it would never be seen again. These pictures are not great because we were above high voltage lighting and our space was very limited.
After a quick tour of the kitchen where the shark food is prepared, we set up camp. Where did we sleep? We slept in Shark Alley. That's right we slept with sharks circling us all night. The lights decreased gradually on the fish. When we first settled in, it was mesmerizing to watch the various creatures swim. When the lights went out completely on the tanks, we could only occasionally see a dark silhouette pass.
We were woken up at 6:45 a.m. and after a quick breakfast, continued our adventures. The morning activities included watching a 4D movie about dolphins (4D means you actually get wet when the dolphins splash on screen, wind blows in the theater and sometimes your seat even jolts). We said good morning to Beau and Foster as the curtain was opened on the dolphin exhibit. Beau swam to the window to greet everyone. We then watched stingrays being fed. After the official sleepover schedule ended, we returned to the Dolphin Discovery area to say goodbye. Clare, in particular, became very fond of the two dolphins during the sleepover. I've already started researching whether there is any possibility of a dolphin cruise when we are in New England later this summer.
We were woken up at 6:45 a.m. and after a quick breakfast, continued our adventures. The morning activities included watching a 4D movie about dolphins (4D means you actually get wet when the dolphins splash on screen, wind blows in the theater and sometimes your seat even jolts). We said good morning to Beau and Foster as the curtain was opened on the dolphin exhibit. Beau swam to the window to greet everyone. We then watched stingrays being fed. After the official sleepover schedule ended, we returned to the Dolphin Discovery area to say goodbye. Clare, in particular, became very fond of the two dolphins during the sleepover. I've already started researching whether there is any possibility of a dolphin cruise when we are in New England later this summer.
RSS Feed
