I Love You, Kansas City – Sea Life Aquarium

{As part of my newfound attempt to love where I am and where I live, I’m going to be randomly writing posts featuring my wonderful city! This is the first and, hopefully, one of many!}

This weekend, in a random, spur of the moment idea explosion, we decided to take the kids down to visit Kansas City’s new Sea Life Aquarium. Due to my job, I had actually already toured the site, but it was right after the fish were delivered, so we weren’t allowed to make any noise and all the tanks were covered up.

Random sidenote: Did you know fish are super sensitive to noise and light? When the fish and other sea creatures came to the aquarium, they were slowly introduced to light and white noise over a span of a few weeks before the aquarium opened to the public.

Pretty soon the adjoining Legoland Park will open, so we decided that it would be better to take the kids to the aquarium before things got too crazy around the area. We arrived to a huge line, but quickly found out via Trent’s ninja training that if we ordered tickets online we could skip the 1+ hour wait. He bought the tickets using his smartphone and into the aquarium we went!

When you first walk in there is a green screen where they take your picture, and yes, I know this is a total ploy for extra cash. But when you’re the main photographer in the family, you’ll pay just about anything to be included in the shot. Plus, if you take a silly photo they’ll make it look like you are being attacked by a giant octopus. Worth $11, I’d say.

The entire space was beautifully designed, from the detailing in the architecture to the lighting to the sound projection, you really feel as if you are underwater. There are a few spots where children can climb underneath the tanks and stand up in a bubble in the middle, which was a huge hit with Lulu. At the end of the experience you’ll find a play area, but we had to skip it since Lu was wearing sandals with no socks (not allowed, thank goodness because that would be totally gross). We will definitely plan ahead for that next time.

One of Lucy’s favorite parts of the experience were the quizzes each kid received at the start of the tour. The quizzes each have six questions, and the answers can be found at hot spots all over the aquarium. Then at the gift shop, the kids can turn in their quizzes for a prize.

Last, but not least, we stopped by the gift shop, cleverly placed so you can’t escape the facility without buying some pukka shell necklace or stuffed fish. The Legoland gift shop was also here, along with the area where you can get your pictures printed from earlier in the day.

All in all, I’d say it was a pretty fun time! Kid-friendly, comfortable and quick (it only took about an hour and a half to get through the whole thing), which is essential with a toddler in tow. Hi-five, KC!

To order tickets online, click here. Check out the yearly passes if you’re a local. The price for a family of four would totally recoup in only three visits!