Diary of a Military Wife

The Corps of travel, deployments, & duty stations

Virginia Aquarium

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Hampton Roads MILSOs!

When it’s a rainy day or simply just too hot outside, consider taking your child to the aquarium! I recently went for a visit to the Virginia Aquarium with my son and Mother-in-law (also a Marine Corps daughter, wife, and mom for over 50 years!..another post for another time) and we all had a blast! The Virginia Aquarium is located in Virginia Beach, which is a convenient location and reasonable driving distance for all military installations in the Hampton Roads area! If you are closer to the Yorktown/Williamsburg/Newport News area like us, then it will probably take you an hour without traffic. This post will talk about the things to do at the aquarium, cost, and tips when making this trip with an infant or toddler!

Tips:

  • There is a good amount of walking that is required, so bringing a stroller inside with you just in case your little one starts to get tired is a good idea. You don’t wanna be stuck carrying them around, especially if they are over 30 pounds like my toddler is! Also great to have if your visit overlaps with nap time, so if a short power nap is required to continue the fun then you are prepared.
  • If you are a mom, then I am sure you know to have plenty of snacks for your little one in case they get hungry. There is a small cafe on location with concession-type food, but it can be pricey. A newer, nicer cafe is under construction.
  • Have Fun!!!

Cost:

  • Children under 3 are free!
  • The regular priced adult ticket to visit just the aquarium is $24.95 and they offer a military discount off of that price.
  • For the adult aquarium & movie ticket combo is $29.95 (military discount available on ticket).

Exhibits:

  • Up until September of 2018, a floating exhibit called “Here Be Dragons” is open for play in the aquarium. You both can explore the magical land of dragons and learn more about the myth and lore of these creatures from around the world. You can find this section near the entrance to the Nature Trail.
  • The Nature Trail is 1/3 mile walk through the woods to the Marsh Pavilion with outlook posts along the way. In one of these posts, jets were taking off from near-by Oceana Naval Air Station and flying right over us! My son was in heaven since he is a plane fanatic!

  • The Marsh Pavilion is a smaller building with an otter, snake, crab, and macro-marsh exhibits.

  • In the Nature Trail close to the Marsh Pavilion building is Adventure Park. This is separate from the aquarium and tickets must be reserved in advance. Ages 5+ can climb and zip line through the trees here.
  • The main aquarium building is called Bay & Ocean Pavilion and this is where you will see all the fascinating sea life. This exhibit includes seals, crocodiles, sea turtles, sharks, fish, & sting rays. There is even a touch pool for visitors to touch a sting ray!

 

  • The Bay and Ocean Pavilion also has lots of exciting interactive activities for the children to do to learn about sea life. This is especially great for older children (4+), however if you have a smaller toddler like me then your child will just really enjoy checking everything out & pushing all the buttons!

For more information on this Aquarium visit their website:https://www.virginiaaquarium.com/Pages/default.aspx

Thanks for stopping by & feel free to leave a comment below for any questions!

xoxo,

Ashley