Spotlight: Aquarium of the Pacific Long Beach

 

This summer I took a trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA. I used their summer hours special that gives you a discounted ticket price if you come in the evening hours. The Aquarium has many interesting exhibits. On the first floor near the entrance is the ocean timeline exhibit that shows you the different species and water level of the ocean throughout earths history.  Upstairs there is the deep sea creatures exhibit as well as the tropical fish exhibit.

They even had the Dory fish from finding Nemo!

 Both are fun to see with an octopus, and brightly colored fish, starfish, sea horses, and sea anaenomes. My favorite exhibit was the jellyfish. There were several different types, small and giant floating around.

Outside there is the penguin exhibit to explore, with cute little penguins to visit.

They also had a Puffin exhibit in the arctic section with the funny birds swimming and diving.

There is also a sting ray petting pond where giant sting rays glide through the water in front of you.

Their skin is actually surprisingly smooth.

htey had a great shark exhibit with many different sizes of sharks.

There is also a section on the local species and geography of the area describing the pacific drop off and the different kinds of fish in the pacific ocean. Even if you are not into ocean life walking through the swirling tidal wave exhibit or watching the Aquarium shows can be fun. Afterwards I headed over to the long beach waterfront to find dinner. I ate at a cute little Mexican restaurant with great views of the water. The colorful stores lining the pier were fun to browse in after dinner while eating my cold stone ice  cream.

All in all it was a very educational and fun evening. This can be a great place to take your kids or a fun place to hang out with friends. And it is very affordable especially if you use the summer discount. If you are looking for something fun to do in Los Angeles this summer I would definitely recommend the Aquarium.