Loveland Living Planet Aquarium

 

Over the weekend we took Anna to the aquarium. We had free tickets because of a promotional photoshoot we participated in earlier in the week. She was excited. She told us she wanted to see the penguins. She was a little hesitant to see the sharks because they bite people. She also told us there was a hidden playground that was hard to find, but that she would know it when she saw it. 

It was fun walking around and looking at the various exhibits. The penguins were a hit. She enjoyed watching them swim. The penguins had armbands with their names on them and Anna loved learning their names. There was even one named Meg, which she thinks is cool because she has an aunt, Meg. 

The sharks ended up being more of a hit than expected. She wasn't as nervous about them as she thought she would be. It may have helped that she was fascinated by the Megalodon jaw in the entryway. She was really excited to take a picture inside the jaw. Afterward, she was excited to see the sharks. 

The jellyfish were also a hit. They are mesmerizing.

We enjoyed exploring all of the exhibits. Mostly we would look at them for a minute, maybe talk about them a bit and then Anna was ready to move on. Anna really liked big colorful fish. She was also into the rays. There was a stingray touch pool, but she her arms weren't long enough. 

We did find the hidden playground. When Anna saw it she was ecstatic and confirmed it was the playground she had been telling us about. It was tucked away in the back corner of the aquarium. We went to the entrance and there was a gate. The attendant told us it was $3 per kid. We were happy to hand over our money and Anna could play. It was a huge play area with multiple levels that she could run and climb and there were many obstacles for her to climb all over. She had a blast. It may have been the highlight of the aquarium for her. 

The other thing that may have been a highlight was the gift shop. She saw it pretty early in our visit and I told her we would stop there on our way out and maybe buy something. Anna proceeded to drop subtle hints throughout our visit reminding me of this discussion. She was thrilled when it was our last stop. We looked all around the gift shop and she decided she wanted a mermaid Barbie - how could I say no. We also found this darling children's book called Not Quite Narwhal that had to come home with us. It was a very successful aquarium trip with our niece.