Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Finding Nemo
While still in Delaware, we opted to take a short trek up to Camden, NJ, to visit the aquarium. Benjamin really enjoys the movie “Finding Nemo,” so was extremely excited about the prospect of actually getting to see a real “Nemo.”
We started off the visit with a stop at the shark pool. Zachary and Papa actually managed to touch a shark, which they thought was way cool! The sting rays stayed toward the bottom and sides, so they weren't able to touch one.
I had never heard of African penguins before, but we soon learned that they do exist. Benjamin liked being able to peer over the glass to get a better look at them.
Next stop was the tank with the grey seals and harbor seals. Zachary and MacKenzie enjoyed getting to see them up close and personal. Benjamin got tickled when they swam by just inches away on the other side of the glass. However, one time he wasn’t paying attention and he was a bit startled at how quickly a seal swam past--it was funny to watch him jump! 
It's no surprise that everything these days is going high-tech, and the aquarium was no exception. We were suckers, because we had to see the Sponge-Bob 4-D movie as part of our aquarium experience. The seats moved, water sprayed on us and images from the movie came toward us (except for Benjamin since he didn’t want to wear his 3-D glasses). It was short and sweet, but it added to the overall experience.
The highlight of Benjamin’s day (and mine and Nana’s too) was when he found Nemo. He walked up to the tank, eyes wide open, and slowly said, “Hi Nemo” as he held up his hand and curled his fingers to wave at his tiny orange friend. Too cute!
A few minutes later, just around the corner, he found Dory (and several of her sisters). That was almost as much fun for him as telling Nemo “hi.”
Before we called it a day, we stopped at the starfish tank, where the kids were allowed to touch them. Benjamin was hesitant at first, but then curiosity took over and he reached right in. MacKenzie decided the water was a bit too cold for her liking though.
We started off the visit with a stop at the shark pool. Zachary and Papa actually managed to touch a shark, which they thought was way cool! The sting rays stayed toward the bottom and sides, so they weren't able to touch one.
I had never heard of African penguins before, but we soon learned that they do exist. Benjamin liked being able to peer over the glass to get a better look at them.
Next stop was the tank with the grey seals and harbor seals. Zachary and MacKenzie enjoyed getting to see them up close and personal. Benjamin got tickled when they swam by just inches away on the other side of the glass. However, one time he wasn’t paying attention and he was a bit startled at how quickly a seal swam past--it was funny to watch him jump! 
It's no surprise that everything these days is going high-tech, and the aquarium was no exception. We were suckers, because we had to see the Sponge-Bob 4-D movie as part of our aquarium experience. The seats moved, water sprayed on us and images from the movie came toward us (except for Benjamin since he didn’t want to wear his 3-D glasses). It was short and sweet, but it added to the overall experience.The highlight of Benjamin’s day (and mine and Nana’s too) was when he found Nemo. He walked up to the tank, eyes wide open, and slowly said, “Hi Nemo” as he held up his hand and curled his fingers to wave at his tiny orange friend. Too cute!
A few minutes later, just around the corner, he found Dory (and several of her sisters). That was almost as much fun for him as telling Nemo “hi.”
Before we called it a day, we stopped at the starfish tank, where the kids were allowed to touch them. Benjamin was hesitant at first, but then curiosity took over and he reached right in. MacKenzie decided the water was a bit too cold for her liking though.
Labels: Benjamin, MacKenzie, Nana and Papa, Stateside visits, Zachary
