The Melbourne Sea Life Aquarium is located in the Central Business District of Melbourne on the bank of the Yarra River. The aquarium is spread over four levels and includes a 580,000 gallon tank at its center that is an ‘oceanarium in the round’, so the fish are swimming all around you, which was a pretty cool experience.
In my opinion, the best part about this aquarium is that it has the perfect level of information and by that I mean not too much and not too little. Sometimes (especially when you’re 7 years old) you don’t have the patience for long, drawn out explanations and demonstrations. This seemed to be just the perfect amount of hands on experiences and learning opportunities.
They had recently launched a Finding Dory & Friends experience that smartly incorporated characters from the Finding Dory movie to teach children about ocean life and the importance of preserving our reefs and coastlines for future generations. It was really well done and kept Jack entertained and interested throughout the visit.
Another part of the visit that Jack really enjoyed was the Art Aquarium. This was a section where you could design your own sea creature, scan it and watch it come to life as it “swims” in the virtual aquarium. Mom and dad may have gotten into the action on this one as well…
Overall, Jack’s review was that he “LOVED!” the aquarium. He especially enjoyed the section that had a penguin habitat. We got to seem them darting underwater and jumping onto the ice. Jack said kids should know the aquarium has “cool penguins and a HUGE crocodile and they should definitely check it out”!
The Detour Diary 