Flash
15/4/22
Trip to the Aquarium
There are quite a few aquariums around the country and they are a great place to visit to learn about creatures that live in the seas and oceans around the world. I had great time.
I found lots of amazing creatures at the aquariums but these were my favourites. In fact, I spent ages just staring at the enormous turtle I found gracefully gliding around in the water. It was such a lovely sight. I couldn’t believe how big the tutle was, especailly its massive shell and long, flipper like legs. Tutles and tortoises can tuck their heads and legs into their shells, but sea turtles actually can’t. Amazing.
Another fascinating creature I found was the sea horse, which are quite funny to look at. While I was watching them I could see them using their tails to hold onto the plants around them, a bit like an anchor, to stop themselves floating around. They also use their tails when they are first born to form little protctive groups with other baby seahorses, with them all holding onto each others tails. That’s so cute.
Nemo and Dory
In lots of the aquariums you will find Nemo and Dory from the film Finding Nemo! Nemo is a Clownfish and Dory is a type of Blue Tang. Both types live amongst coral reefs and in the warm water found near the coasts.
Starfish
Some people have renamed starfish to sea star, because a starfish is not actually a fish. In fact, it is not at all like a fish. It is actually really hard to understand what they really are. They have no brain, no blood going around their body and they can even regrow an arm if they need to. Imagine that, regrowing an arm. Wow!
If you don’t look really closely, it’s hard to even see them moving, but move they do. I was amazed to see a purple starfish in a rock pool display at the aquarium as you could see all of its tiny little purple tube feet moving constantly, making the starfish move across the pool.
You can call them starfish or sea star if you prefer. Which do you like?
Rays
Rays are amazing, but it is easy to think all ray fish are stingrays. They are not. In fact, there are hundreds of different types, or species. I loved watching them move around, poking up above the water and I loved watching them from underneath. It’s like they have a little face, with a mouth, two eyes and even something that looks like a nose.
Trip to the Aquarium
If you are learning about sea creatures, an aquarium is a great place to visit. There is nothing like seeing creatures like these for yourself. The only other way to see them would be to have your own submarine, the oceans are a big place, so it would take a very long time to see them all!
Which creature have you enjoyed seeing the most?
You can find out more about the aquariums I visited by going to their websites, or asking a grown up to help you find them – Sea Life London, Sea Life Brighton, Sea Life Birmingham and Sea Life Weymouth.
There’s an interesting fact about the aquarium at Brighton. It is the oldest in the world.
All photos and illustrations in this blog post are Whizzbots Images.