When I asked my friends for recommendations for family friendly things to do in Vancouver, nearly everyone responded the Vancouver Aquarium was a must see. Opened to the public on June 15, 1956, the Vancouver Aquarium has become the largest aquarium in Canada and one of the five largest in North America.
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You could easily spend all day perusing the many exhibits and galleries featuring over 50,000 aquatic creatures from across the world. One of our favorites was the Discover Rays touch pool where we enjoyed a hands-on encounter. Not only was it thrilling to watch these gentle fishes up close, but it was so amazing to be able to feel their bodies as they swim by.
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| The new 50,000L Discover Rays touch pool is home to both cownose and southern stingrays. |
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| Cade loved getting close to the stingrays. |
The largest of the galleries is the Wild Coast, home to Helen, a rescued Pacific white-sided dolphin, Chester, a rescued false killer whale, rescued sea otters, Daisy, a rescued harbour porpoise, rescued harbour seals, sea lions and much more. It also houses a tide pool, several touch pools, and the underwater viewing area for the dolphin habitat. We enjoyed spending time watching the sea lions play and eat. Beginning July 1, an exciting new exhibit will spotlight the Steller sea lions at Steller's Bay and feature an active research station.
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| Feeding time for the sea lion. |
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| Swimming and playing. |
The Vancouver Aquarium also hosts fun and educational shows and programs daily. From caring for dolphins to some sea turtle talk, definitely take advantage of the shows that feature the aquarium's animals. For a very unique and full sensory experience, do not miss the 4-D Theatre. The 4-D experience combines sight and sounds with smell and touch. It certainly caused me to jump in my seat a few times, but it was very fun.
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| We all loved the 4-D Theatre! |
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| Lauren and Cade deciding whether the caiman is real or not. |
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| Cade loved the jellyfish exhibits. |
My family spent hours at the Vancouver Aquarium! The sea life here is fascinating and definitely made our visit a highlight of our Vancouver trip. You can visit the Vancouver Aquarium 365 days a year from 9:30am to 6pm.
Thank you so much to the Vancouver Aquarium for hosting our visit. All opinions are entirely my own.
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