The National Aquarium at Baltimore

Located on the scenic Inner Harbour of Baltimore, the modern glass aquarium sits right on the waterfront flanked by restaurants and battleships. We chose to go during Spring Break, which in hindsight was probably not a good idea. The ticket line was long, they admitted people in 15 minute increments and we had to wait outside in the cold until it was our time to go in. I highly recommend purchasing your tickets on-line before going to avoid lines and waiting in the cold (if you go during the winter). Pricing is reasonable but they charge an extra $5 to include a 15 minute, 4D movie which I think should already be included in the main price.

The layout of the aquarium is very interesting. It's broken up into several areas and uses a combination of escalators and moving walkways to carry you up throughout the various levels of the exhibits, such as the Atlantic Coral Reef, the Pacific Ocean, Maryland Life, and the Amazon. These exhibits, when crowded, can be a bit of pain as everyone wants a turn to look in the window and not everyone is considerate of others. It was also very hot in there. When you reach the top level, you enter a simulated rain forest complete with misters, birds and monkeys roaming about. The descending ramp takes you though Shark Alley, where the surrounding tanks are filled with various species of sharks.

Once you exit Shark Alley, you have the option to go to Dolphin Discovery, Jellies Invasion and Australia. We went into Dolphin Discovery and they only had 2 dolphins, which we couldn't see when we went to the underwater windows because they were hanging out at the top all the time. At the top of the tank is an arena, so the best time to see them is to wait for the show. I thought the Jellies Invasion was very cool but the kids got very bored, very quickly is this area. Moving on to the Australia exhibit, we saw birds, snakes, lizards, spiders, crocodiles, and of course, fish.

Compared to other aquariums I've been to, this one is very nice but I think what's missing is an interactive area for the kids, such as a place where they can touch the stingrays or starfish. Scattered throughout the aquarium are snack shops, cafeterias, and let's not forget the gift shops. Can't leave without the kids dragging you in there for something they absolutely can't live without!

From September 2012 to March 2013, the aquarium had "Fridays After 5", which offered an entry price of only $12 from 5 to closing, which is more than enough time to see everything there. If you're planning a visit later this year, check the website first to see if they're doing it again.

Parking is expensive! Closest parking garage is Lockwood Garage across the street. The cost is $24 but you can get a discount on the parking from the aquarium. There's no Metro here and rush hour traffic tends to get crazy starting around 3pm so plan accordingly if you don't want to be sitting on the highway for a while.

The National Aquarium also has a location in DC.  Don't even waste your time going there!

http://www.aqua.org/visit/baltimore

Kid's View: "It was cool. My favorite exhibits were the tanks on the way up to the rain forest, especially the Amazon. On the way down, I liked the sharks and the ones with the chainsaw looking head had teeth that were all chipped up and broken. The jellyfish part was kinda boring. Australia was okay but I don't like spiders and they had tarantulas in there."