Somehow I lived my whole life up until last weekend without visiting an aquarium. The Living Planet Aquarium recently opened in Salt Lake City, Utah, and my family jumped at the Mom It Forward invitation to attend a special National Geographic #AnimalJam event there.
Our walk through the underwater glass tunnel at The Living Planet Aquarium.
Someone sign me up for annual aquarium passes, please. This place is AMAZING! There is so much to do and see. Killer frogs from the rainforest? Check. Glowing jellyfish? Check. Sharks? Check. Penguins? Yes, they are there and so much more. The Living Planet Aquarium is a magical place that everyone – no matter how young or old you are – can experience. Correction: SHOULD experience.
We loved it. My kids were asking when would we be able to go back to the aquarium before we even pulled out of the parking lot. This is a place that no matter how many times you visit, you can have a different learning experience every time.
Dr. Brady Barr measures how fast my son could strike, if he were a snake.
We were lucky and got a surprise special guest visit, reptile expert Dr. Brady Barr. He is the star of Dangerous Encounters with Brady Barr. He talked to our group about his work with Nat Geo and even brought out a live boa constrictor! Here was my own personal “dangerous encounter” for the day – I got pretty close to the boa to take this pic:
I snapped quite a few photos of our visit to the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium to share with you. Believe me when I say there is so much more to see. Our aquarium trip was exciting, fun and educational. We will definitely go back.
Looking up from inside the underwater glass tunnel in the Ocean Explorer exhibit.
Of course, everyone is always excited to see NEMO!
There are several touch-and-feel exhibits like this one. Want to touch a ray?
We could have watched the penguins all day long at the Antarctic Adventure exhibit.
Beautiful parrot from South America.
There is so much more than undersea creatures at the Loveland aquarium. The Journey to South America exhibit features parrots, toucans, frogs, snakes and more. The environment looks and feels like you’re really in a rainforest (humidity and all!)
And because we aren’t really in a rainforest and are actually in the desert, the Loveland aquarium’s Discover Utah exhibit is dedicated to showing us many of the creatures found right here in Utah. We loved to see the cute river otters like the one in the picture playing with his bowl.
So much to do – learn- see – experience. Loveland Living Planet Aquarium…we will be back again soon!
Have you visited the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium? What did you think? Have you visited other aquariums and/or have a favorite aquarium?
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Julie Wood says
What a beautiful place to visit. I would love to visit an aquarium. I never have been to one. We do not have one in my City. But, the live creatures are so beautiful to watch and see. I bet your family had a blast, and I would love to go to your city to see this aquarium.
Kate F. says
I haven’t been to the aquarium in years. I didn’t even know a new one had opened, but I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for the review!
Nicole says
Hi Kate! If you’re in the the SLC area, it is definitely worth a stop. It’s a huge new aquarium located right off the interstate exit so not too hard to find. We didn’t even get to experience all of it, I’ll have to go back again for the 4D movie. 🙂 -Nicole
Tina Marie says
That looks like a lot of fun. We’ll definitely visit next time we’re in Salt Lake. Thanks for sharing!
Lorayne Gothard says
Wow a super nice aquarium!! We have wanted to go to Utah because we have heard it is really pretty there. When we do go we will go to the aquarium too!!
Harmony says
We are so excited to go! We just got a family pass!
Nicole says
Awesome! That will be so much fun to be able to go whenever you want.