If you find yourself on the Seattle Waterfront, make sure to check out the Seattle Aquarium. This amazing attraction is located right off the waterfront on Pier 59, and is a nationally renowned aquatic center. Children and adults will enjoy seeing marine animals that they probably would never have the opportunity to see elsewhere. Since one of the Seattle Aquarium’s top priorities is education, a lot of exhibits are hands on and kid friendly, such as reaching in to touch starfish segments, or petting stingrays. There is a great display about old time diving gear, and kids and adults are allowed to try on some of the equipment. A family activity center teaches kids all about Orcas, which live in this region. All the displays provide a great deal of information about the marine mammals, invertebrates, and birds living in the Seattle Aquarium.
The Seattle Aquarium has many distinctions, including the fact that it contains the world’s first inside salmon ladder and hatchery. As you walk along the exhibit, you are actually watching the life cycle of a Pacific salmon. It only makes sense that in Seattle, where the Pacific salmon is so important, marine researchers would try to understand the amazing lifestyle of this fish. The Seattle Aquarium is also home to the Dark Avenger, a giant Pacific octopus that weighs over 50 pounds. This species is capable of growing to over 150 pounds in size! The Seattle Aquarium was the first to raise a specimen of the giant Pacific octopus from inception. A favorite for Seattle Aquarium visitors is the sea otter exhibit. You can watch these playful creatures swim gracefully (and rapidly!) through the clear glass of the tank. Come in at feeding time, and watch as they eat 25% of their body weight in a day. This is another area where the Seattle Aquarium has broken ground. It is the first and only aquarium to have ever raised a sea otter from inception.
The Seattle Aquarium is as educational as it is exciting. There is so much to see, and afterwards, you can look right out at the Puget Sound from the viewing deck, and feel as though you understand it a little better.