Sea Life Minnesota showcases variety of water ecosystems

Any chance to see sea life up-close works for us. Sea Life Minnesota Aquarium at the Mall of America was a great experience for us.

The aquarium offers a look at sea and freshwater creatures from different regions of the world. Nine exhibits feature thousands of life forms – from sea horses to sharks. The exhibits are easily separated, so visitors know what area they are looking at.

Sea Life starts with a stingray touch tank. If you’ve never touched the top of a sting ray, I suggest you take the opportunity when it comes up. They feel soft but a bit slimy. It’s just cool to touch a sting ray knowing it won’t kill you. LOL.

I love checking out the coral reef displays at aquariums. Sea Life doesn’t disappoint in the area. The colors that you see at reefs are so beautiful.

The Atlantis exhibit provided a nice surprise, as I was photographing a sunken ship display and a shark appeared in the frame. Mind you, in the ocean, I’d likely have pulled a “Hooper” and went for the first hiding spot I could find, ala “Jaws.” But in the comfort of the Sea Life aquarium, I took his picture. He even “smiled.”

The aquarium has a nice underwater tunnel. It stretches about 300 feet. You see all kinds of animals – different species of fish, sharks, and sting rays. This was a popular spot for families with small children.

A Sawfish swam by during our walk through the tunnel. It’s actually a carpenter shark. Either way, I wouldn’t care to come across it in the deep.

Sea Life has an outstanding jelly fish exhibit. They use black light and mirrors. The six types of jelly fish change colors as you watch. The mirrors give the exhibit a deeper, larger feel. It was a fun way to spend about 10 minutes or so, just watching the colors change and the jellies move about.

Seahorse Kingdom may have allowed us our best view of sea horses at an aquarium. We were able to get pretty close up to the tanks and see them. Some of the sea horses were together. Others moved about on their own.

The Amazon exhibit was interesting. We saw a caiman “sunning” itself under a heat lamp. I wouldn’t want to come across one in the wild.

I love the frogs. The colors are very attractive.

The fresh water exhibit highlights fish and other creatures native to Minnesota and the northern region of the United States. The exhibit featured sturgeon, catfish and gar.

This was our second visit to a Sea Life aquarium. The Minnesota aquarium is different than the Kansas City location we visited a couple of years ago. It’s nice to know that you can expect to see variety. It helps when planning attractions to visit, knowing that you will not see a cookie cutter product.

We had a great time touring Sea Life Minnesota Aquarium at the Mall of America. We recommend checking it out.

For more information on Sea Life, please visit www.mallofamerica.com or www.visitsealife.com.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Meet Minneapolis and Sea Life for the complimentary passes. However, all opinions and views are ours.