One thing about their pricing. It was $8 for adults, $6 for 3-17. They did have coupons on their website that you can print out and bring in. I thought the neatest part was that the annual membership was only the price of 2 visits. So if you think you will visit it more than once or twice, it is definitely worth it to buy the membership ticket.
They currently have 3 main displays: Discover Utah Gallery, Journey to South America, and Ocean Explorer Gallery. They were advertising a South American Penguin Display coming soon, but I don't remember when.
I think this first picture is in front of some trout from Utah, but I'm not sure.
We actually weren't terribly impressed with the Utah fish. Maybe we have seen and eaten too many. :) But they did have a neat "boat" that you could sit in the driver's seat, and it would move as though on water, while taking you on a visual tour of about 12 different things. There were also native frogs, toads, and salamanders.
The salamanders immediately reminded me of being a child, and seeing them in our window wells. And of course, I thought about Michael. When he was little, I guess Mom had told him to wash his hands. Well, he didn't want the salamander to escape, so he just stuck it in his mouth sideways (like someone holding a knife in their mouth while climbing up a ladder) and washed his hands. I didn't see it, but it still makes me laugh.
They also have a "touch pool" where you can put your hands in the water, and touch the stingrays that are swimming around. There was one stingray that would swim almost vertically along the side so you could touch it. (not pictured here)
They had a Coral section that has lots of fake coral you could climb in. When we first asked Katie to get in one for a picture she looked at us as though we were crazy. Then she looked back at the dark hole her parents wanted her to crawl into. She wouldn't go in until I showed her it was like a tunnel and I waited for her at one end. This particular picture is just a small alcove, but she didn't seem to understand the concept of putting her face in the hole for a picture. That is why I'm right by her:
On one of the "coral" displays there was a crab. I told Katie to touch it and again she thought I was trying to kill her. I had to touch it and bend it's leg to show her it wasn't real. The coral was towards the end of our time there. I think she had seen so many things in real life that she had only pictured before. It must have seemed weird to see animals move in ways she had never imagined. No wonder she was wary of touching one that truthfully, looked pretty real. In fact, as I reached out to touch it to prove to Katie it was fake, I had the minuscule second of hesitation. What if it was real?
This display had a spotted stingray (among other things) that is in the bottom right corner. Elayna was reaching up as though to touch the fish as they swam by. I love how intrigued both the girls are:
Some other things that we didn't get pictures of: In the Ocean display: upside-down jellyfish, regular jellyfish, sea horses, crabs, sharks, eels, a weird fish that looked like coral-but walked instead of swam, and a sleeping octopus. (Katie didn't even remember seeing that one)
In the Journey to South America: fish that floated on the surface and had bulgy eyes like alligators, frogs, spiders, an electric eel that made "noise"-they had an audio representation of his electricity, turtles, and mini alligator things.
You can also feed the stingrays, but it cost $6 extra. We walked past the group as the leader was explaining how to feed them. You hold your hand out flat, and the stingray will swim over your hand, and suck it out of your palm. I'm not sure if that would be thrilling or scary. Probably both.
I have always loved the water, and I love going to aquariums. This was a fairly decent one, that I predict will become much better in the years to come.
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