Petting sharks at the New England Aquarium

Boston is a city of water – from the harbor to the Charles River to the brooks and ponds of the Fenway, you won’t venture far without encountering something aquatic. So it stands to reason that the New England Aquarium (which is situated right on a wharf in the heart of the Boston Harbor waterfront) would be an excellent one and well worth a visit.

Please click on the photos to see a gallery of full-sized versions.

The main area of the aquarium is taken up with the Giant Ocean Tank, at the bottom of which sits the penguin exhibit. We loved watching these funny birds swim and play and preen, and were also lucky to happen by as they were being fed.

Wandering up the circular walkway that surrounds the huge tank, we marveled at the vast amount of marine life swimming past us. The tank is set up like a Caribbean coral reef and is so big that it was actually constructed before the rest of the aquarium, which was built around it. Teddy was especially enthralled by Myrtle, the giant sea turtle, who was given her breakfast while we watched and then swam up to the edge of the tank as if saying hello.

At the top of the Giant Ocean Tank we visited the Edge of the Sea Touch Tank, where visitors are encouraged to get up close and personal with animals you might find in a tidal pool at the beach.

On the way back down, we visited the sea anemones in the Northern Waters gallery,

spent some time trying out the interactive exhibits about topics like tides and sound waves in the Thinking Gallery,

and then marveled at the lion fish in the Tropical Gallery.

Without question, the highlight of our visit (and the exhibit where we spent the most time) was the Shark & Ray Touch Tank.

The velvety rays here will swim right under your hands, although the sharks are more elusive. Apparently they don’t like loud noise and since the children, to say nothing of the grownups, were utterly unable to keep their voices at a reasonable pitch in the excitement of trying to touch sharks, the room is full of a perpetual din. But patience paid off, and both Matt and Tommy had one of the Bonnethead sharks swim under their hands.

Throughout the aquarium, panels explain the importance of the animals to the Earth’s ecosystem, and I was grateful for (if also sobered by) this information. The kids would occasionally stop to read, but the incredible closeness of all the animals meant that their aquarium experience was more visceral than studied – they just wanted to see and feel. And I think this was just fine. I mean, if you’ve touched a shark, you understand that it means you no harm and also that it actually exists out there swimming quietly in the clear water. What better educational tool can there be than to look straight into the face of nature and to touch it with your own hands?