12/28/12: Mystic Aquarium Winter Waterland, Titanic Exhibit, and Polar Express 4-D

Today we went to the Mystic Aquarium to Winter Waterland.  I haven't been to this aquarium since I was young so it was fun to discover along with the kids.  My favorite part of the Aquarium was the Beluga Whales.  There is one named Juno that is super interactive with guests.  I loved watching him and was impressed to find that he even has his own Twitter handle @JunoBeluga.

The kids enjoyed seeing the whales too.

It was amazing how they would come right up to play games with guests.

Then we stayed outside for a little while to check out the penguins.  Be prepared that about 1/3 of the Aquarium is outside so make sure to wear appropriate layers as needed.  This would be a perfect place to visit in the summer but we had a great time in the cold too and saw lots of cool animals indoors and outdoors.

The penguins inside.  You can watch them from inside the building swimming around under the water.

This is how the Aquarium looks as you go in.  It really is beautiful and quite large.

There is a sea lion show.  Sea lions are always fun to watch and I love seeing how smart they are and the tricks they can do.

Also during Winter Waterland they had crafts going on.  Here are the kids making bird feeders.

Lauren loves touching marine life.  I think if we let her she would dive right in the tank.  Funny enough Evan won't touch them and is happy to just watch the animals.

He doesn't mind watching them from outside the glass.  Here he is with one of the turtles.

This stingray was huge!

Another reason we decided to take the drive to the Mystic Aquarium was to see the Titanic exhibit and the Polar Express in 4-D.  The Polar Express movie was really cool to see.  It is a 14 minute synopsis of the movie that includes cool effects, rumbling seats, scents, and even some snow fall.

The highlight of the trip for Evan was the Titanic Exhibit.  He loves watching movies and documentaries about the Titanic and always brings home Titanic books from the library.

This is a really cool exhibit with replicas of artifacts and pieces of the boat.

Here is a model of the iceberg.

Evan exploring.

Here is a replica of the boat as it exists under the water.

Evan in front of it.

Now in to the indoor exhibits.  Here are the Jellyfish.

We just watched Finding Nemo so the kids were having fun saying I will call you squishy like Dory.

Lauren hanging out on top of a huge turtle.

I love this picture of Evan staring at one of the fish.

The Lion Fish were my favorite.

There is still time to go to Mystic Aquarium’s Winter Waterland holiday celebration as it runs until January 1st.  The Polar Express 4-D Experience is included with Mystic Aquarium membership and the value ticket option, or tickets can be purchased inside the aquarium for $6 each.

Follow Mystic Aquarium on Twitter: @mysticaquarium

Like the Mystic Aquarium on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/mysticaquarium

Disclosure:  I was provided value tickets for my family and I to go to Mystic Aquarium and attend the Polar Express 4-D Experience.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.