Curious kids will love the hands-on exhibits, live feedings, touch tanks, and endless amount of information about sea life at the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium!

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is a California must-see, especially with kids! The aquarium opened in 1984, and I took my first trip there in 1986. As a child, the beautiful and strange things that can be found in the ocean are endlessly entertaining and thrilling to discover. The Monterey Bay Aquarium does a fantastic job of creating hands-on exhibits and allowing children to learn with all of their senses. With over 80,000 plants and animals there is something for everyone to enjoy and an entire day can easily be spent exploring the over 200 exhibits.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium also works hard at conserving and improving the environment and protecting and helping animal and fish populations. They are involved in legislation that is addressing climate change and ending plastic pollution. They are also working to make seafood more sustainable. I love supporting organizations that are dedicated to improving our world and to educating our youth about the beauty of our world and encouraging young children to protect it. 

Some of our favorite exhibits and features of the aquarium are: the splash wall where you feel as if you are underneath a crashing wave, the touch tank where you can touch starfish and other creatures, the kelp forest - a 28-foot-tall tank featuring the creatures of a kelp forest, and of course the mammals that steal our hearts - the penguins and sea otters!