I dont think I could tell you the last time I’ve been to an aquarium. It was this fact, in addition to my niece’s current obsession with “Finding Dory,” that made me jump on the opportunity to go with my family! Initially I was a little wary after hearing we would be going to the new Grapevine Aquarium. Grapevine is great for a lot of reasons; but I wasn’t sure how the aquarium would stack up, especially since it’s a part of the mall. However, I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised!

We moved through all the exhibits fairly quickly (the nature of attending an aquarium with a two year old) but I was impressed with the variety of creatures that we saw! There were so many things I had never seen or heard of before!! I also really appreciated that they shared information about how and what they were breeding in addition to sharing their other rescue and conservation efforts. I think things like aquariums and zoos are beautiful and fun to visit but I often wonder about the quality of life of the animals. These signs let me know that the Grapevine aquarium is doing their part to educate and conserve.

We didn’t stay for any of the shows they were putting on, but the aquarium offered many other ways to interact with the animals. There were many toddler only entrances and viewing points that my niece gladly took advantage of while identifying all the Dory’s and Nemo’s. We also made sure to stop by the special touch pools that give you the opportunity to touch different types of starfish and other sea life!

The aquarium didn’t allow flash photography and an excited 2 year old is very hard to keep up with, but I enjoyed getting a few practice shots in with my new 50mm lens I got for Christmas! I am obsessed, to say the least, and can’t wait to start taking more cool pictures!!

When was the last time you went to the aquarium? Where was it? I feel like I need to spend more time understanding marine life, my name IS Ariel after all.