Tucked away on one side of Charleston lies the South Carolina Aquarium, the destination of choice by the currently shark mad 3-year-old (in keeping with the travel tradition that we have that the children also get to decide a little of what we do/see on each trip).
I will warn you now, it’s not exactly the cheapest entrance fee on the planet (it cost us $136 for the five of us, there is no family ticket option), but The South Carolina Aquarium can be forgiven for the amount of conservation work it does, especially when it comes to sea turtles. The little hospital area is fascinating and so valuable in helping these beautiful creatures (most of which have ended up here thanks to humans sadly). Look on it as a charitable donation combined with a day out and everything’s good…
As Aquariums go, South Carolina’s is not the biggest either, but it’s big enough (and definitely contains enough) to occupy the best part of a day with floors covering native wildlife, educational hands-on play areas (which include touch and feel areas, manned by educators who look after the “exhibits” and teach you all about them (and most importantly make sure they are handled correctly and don’t get squished).
The huge main tank is mesmerizing and full of sharks, grouper, barracuda and other sea life local to these waters. We happened to arrive when the was a question and answer session with a diver in the water with the animals. The older two enjoyed listening to this, whilst the youngest was happy to lie on the floor and look up as the sharks and other large fish glided over his head…
Definite highlights for us were the sea otters, the turtle rescue bay, the touch and learn tanks where we met rays, horseshoe crabs, starfish and anemones, and the hurricane simulator which probably wasn’t used all that much when the really big real one skirted around these waters recently.
The South Carolina Aquarium is a really great option for a rainy day and/or to keep children happy after all that amazing Charlestonian sightseeing/history ingesting…
This is perhaps my favourite picture taken on the day:
A little extra tip, if you head out to the ray feeding area at the back, make sure you look out to see as the chances are that you will spot wild dolphins…
Next stop Florida…
[…] we must include some of the exploration wishes of our offspring, which is how we ended up at the South Carolina Aquarium (which, after the most delicious seafood lunch at Fleet Landings, did make me feel ever so slightly […]