A Family Trip to the Mystic Aquarium, CT

Last year, Henry and I had a special one on one trip to the Mystic Aquarium and this year we decided to take the rest of the family along. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I love the Mystic Aquarium and I was excited for the other kids to have their first experience there.

We lucked out and happened to go on a day that Spider Man and Iron Man were also at the Aquarium. They have all kinds of fun events and guest appearances each week that you can check out on their events calendar HERE. Henry was so excited to have his picture taken with Iron Man. We let him get a picture by himself and then we all jumped in for a pic!

Iron Fam

After our superhero fun, we continued on with the outside exhibits. Like last year, the beluga whales stole my heart again. They are so fun and playful you can't help but love them. I'm also a sucker for the penguins. The kids loved watching them swim under the water through the little side tunnels.

Playtime

Love me some penguins

After spending a long time watching and counting frogs by the Marsh Trek, we headed to the new Birds of the Outback Exhibit. There is a $3 exhibit entry fee which gains you access to a 1,200 square foot aviary which houses hundreds of free flying birds. Now I was actually a little skeptical of the exhibit but I must admit that it was really cool. They give you a millet seed stick which allows you to feed the birds. Daniel spent most of his time aggressively chasing the birds with his stick but Isabelle and Henry were able to actually feed them. They both loved it!

After we finished up the outside portion, we headed inside to the Main Gallery. They have so many cool animals including fish (obviously!), sting rays, sharks, jelly fish, turtles, and more.

Piranhas lure you in with their sparkles and then eat you - or something like that

They could watch all day

Turtle Photo Bomb

The boys favorite part of the inside exhibit was the touch tanks. Daniel enjoys basically soaking his whole arm while not even touching an animal. Henry loves to hold and touch anything he can get his hands on!

After the Main Exhibit Hall we headed to the 4D theater to check out Rio 4D. It's an interactive 4D experience where you follow along with the blue macaws as Blu learns to fly. It's only a 5 minute film which is nice since Daniel wouldn't sit still for much longer than that even with the excitement of the movie. There is an additional charge to attend the 4D movie unless you purchase the value ticket so you might want to consider the value ticket if you plan on seeing the show.

Following the 4D experience, we headed to Titanic 12,5400 Feet Below. I enjoy this exhibit because it is educational for adults and older children but also has plenty of hands on exhibits to keep younger children occupied.

And of course, we stopped at the Penguins Cafe before heading out because a trip to the Aquarium is never complete without an ice cream treat! I also enjoyed a soft pretzel :)

So there you have it, another super awesome trip to the Mystic Aquarium in the books. The Aquarium is definitely chock full of fun stuff to do so plan on spending a full day there. Now like most great places, the Aquarium can be pricey. I mean those belugas gotta eat, right?! You can check out their prices HERE. So definitely do your research and check your local library for discounted passes. Also, think of spending a weekend in Mystic since if you have your ticket validated before you leave, you can return for two consecutive days for free. I also always look into memberships when checking out aquariums or zoos since they often pay for themselves with just a couple of visits throughout the year. 

Be sure to follow Mystic Aquarium on Facebook (HERE!) to keep up to date on all the latest events and activities!

*My family received complimentary admission to the Mystic Aquarium, including the Birds of the Outback and Rio 4D. As always, all opinions are my own*