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This past spring we went to Newport Aquarium in Newport, KY.  It’s just outside of Cincinnati, OH.  Leslie had an opportunity to do a shadow program there and we went around it while waiting for her.  It is a nice aquarium and it has a lot of hands on things for kids.  If you have kids, they will have a blast here.  They have lots of kid friendly areas and a play area about halfway through.  Every year they have some special display they focus on.  Last year it was the “Ring Of Fire: Octopus” display.  If you live close enough and have kids interested in sea animals, they have an amazing shadow program.  There are a number of choices for kids to learn about the ins and outs of an aquarium. Last year Leslie did the husbandry program and loved it.  This year she wants to do the women in stem program there.

When you first walk in, you see this huge blue whale statue.  The walls at the entrance are painted in an arctic theme with polar bears and seals.

Then you go down the escalator into the aquarium.  And there is an open tank with loads of fish.  Kyle loved watching these fish.  Then as you walk on into it, they have the most beautiful displays of fish.

If you love fish, this is the place to be, they have fish from all over the world.

They have open displays where you can touch sea stars and rays.  There are sea turtles and snakes as well.  They have an amazing shark display and as you are getting ready to leave the aquarium, they have a shark bridge you can walk through (or you can go around it if you are nervous about walking over it).  The sharks were of course Kyle’s favorite part of the aquarium.

They have sea horses sea dragons and eels. They have a frog room where they show all different types of frogs and which ones are poisonous vs not poisonous.

 

They have a Gila monster there too.  Kyle said it was the “hugest lizard I ever sawd.”  He loved watching it.

One of the things that I like about Newport Aquarium is that they tell you some of the research that they do and their conservation efforts. They had all different types of snakes, not one of my favorite parts of the aquarium, but very interesting to read about them anyway.

Then there is the alligator.  They explain the difference between alligators and crocodiles.  Then we come to Mighty Mike.  How do you measure up to Mighty Mike?  If you never go to Newport Aquarium, you will never know.

Thereis a stingray display and there’s sharks that you can stroke.  There is the penguin palooza.  You can have your picture taken with a penguin as well, for a fee of course.

If you take a trip to Newport aquarium, plan to spend the day there or at least 3 to 4 hours, depending on how much you read and how many of the speakers you listen to.  Also allow at least 30 minutes for the kids to play in the play area.  They also have a cafe in there if you get hungry while looking around.  And then there is the gift shop as you exit.  If you like aquariums and fish it is certainly a place that you should check out if you visit Cincinnati, OH.