By Staff Writer: Grace Anders
As most parents with toddlers can relate, my days of going to happy hour, movie theatres and concerts are limited to nonexistent; and with the warm weather season of outdoor fun coming to an end, I find myself frantically trying to come up with kid friendly, energy expending activities to get myself and my toddler out of the house.
On a recent trip to Denver, I discovered the perfect toddler friendly activity adults can enjoy as well: the aquarium! From the moment my toddler parked himself in front of the first fish tank and stared in mesmerized wonderment, I knew it was going to be a hit. Once I convinced him to move on from that first tank to the other fish in the manmade, acrylic enclosed sea, the educational fun continued. The Denver aquarium was a crescendo of colorful freshwater fish and river otters in the North American Wilderness Exhibits, to rattlesnakes, tarantulas and bearded dragon lizards in the Desert Exhibits, to eels, stingrays and sharks gliding overhead in the large viewing tank of the Under the Sea Exhibits.
For just $5, we rented a buggy for our tiny humans to ride in when their little legs got tired, which I would highly recommend as it proved to be a great way to keep things moving from one exhibit to the next.
In a nutshell, the aquarium was the perfect family friendly indoor activity. The little ones got a stimulating experience getting up close and personal with a vast variety of aquatic species; and us adults not only got to experience the joy of our children’s amazement, but we also learned a thing or two about sea creatures ourselves. Did you know Moray eels coat themselves in a green slime and tie themselves in knots as a defense against predators? I didn’t either until I visited the Denver aquarium. If you have a chance to take your toddler to the aquarium this winter, trust me, it will be worth it.