Educational Benefits of Taking Your Kids to an Aquarium

Learning comes in many shapes and structures. At SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium, it comes in the form of around 2,500 slimy, stripy, spotty, spooky and spiky sea creatures. Want a window to the alien underworld? The aquarium is where science meets magic. Spending a day here is one of the most fun and educational activities in Melbourne. Here’s why.

 

The Coolest, Most Colourful School Ever

See our weird and wonderful aquatic creatures in real life, join an interactive guided tour and tap into the vast knowledge of our education team to learn loads of fun fishy facts. Here, learning is fun; whether you’re a visual person, a listener, or someone who can’t sit still. All of these experiences build critical thinking and problem-solving skills around everything from fish anatomy to the food chain. What causes a coral to spawn? Why do fish school together? Why is the Grey Nurse Shark often referred to as the Labrador of the sea? All good questions, kids!

 

Sans Screens

Put your phone down and get in touch at an aquarium. Because let’s face it, watching online animal videos is nothing like getting up close and personal. It’s tangible, it’s memorable, it catches on. One day, if you’re lucky enough to see a bioluminescent beach or a humongous stingray glide over your head, you’ll better understand how the water world works. Don’t miss the feeds and talks throughout the day and remember to drop by the Discovery Rockpool to touch the spiral edges of a shark egg or a spongy sea cucumber.

 

One Planet

Seeing the mystical underwater beauty, first-hand, makes us want to protect our earth. Why wouldn’t we want to keep our oceans healthy and full of diverse life? Discover our breeding programs and how we rescue injured animals. Pave the way for future environmental advocates; teach the kids about our missions to ban whaling and outlaw shark-finning. Learning as they go, kids will be more informed to take responsible action.

 

Action Packed

Identifying different animals is a great game in itself – try spotting a striking Bluestripe Snapper or a Green Moray. With 12 themed habitat zones, SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium is chock-a-block with playful adventure. Explore where life began with the fossils at our Ancient Oceans zone or watch the snowy acrobatics of the King and Gentoo penguins at the Penguin Playground. Stroke the bumpy skin of a sea star at the Discovery Rockpool, take a selfie with a shark and meet Thorpey and Moana, our Flatback Sea Turtles.

 

Nurture Creative Brains

All the colours of the rainbow, strange shapes and fish names you can’t pronounce all encourage your kids to look beyond their everyday life on land. The mystic aquarium provides both right-brain and left-brain inspiration. Your little ones’ might be moved to paint pictures of the kaleidoscopic coral reefs, write letters to their new underwater BFF, keep a science journal or even start finding the tools and formulas for a home aquarium.

It’s safe to say you can pinky promise your kids that learning is fun – especially at the aquarium.