Dude. Coming back from vacation is tough. Especially when coming back from the Caribbean sans kids. Especially when my hubs and I caught a stomach virus on the way back and spent our first two days back battling for the toilet. Yeah, it’s been unpleasant at the Harding household. That’s what I get for sending beautiful vacation pics while y’all were buried in snow. Payback’s a…. very unpleasant thing.
Fortunately, we all felt well enough to visit SEA LIFE Charlotte-Concord for a sneak preview as a member of the Parent Council; the grand opening was today. Not only was it a really cool experience, it also made me smile to visit some of the fishies we saw snorkeling last week!
Located in Concord Mills, SEA LIFE is a very interactive museum and host to an amazing range of sea creatures. Because we missed a school day to attend the event, I made Graham take notes. Some of his impressive facts include:
- The tanks hold more than 150,000 gallons of water.
- There are more than 5,000 creatures living at SEA LIFE Charlotte-Concord.
- You should not touch sharks. Especially when they are big.
- Sea rays can be very big. Avoid the barb.
- Hermit crabs are scary.
Yes, my child is a cautious one. Both Graham (5) and Will (2) loved all of the exhibits at the museum, and although refrained from touching any of the sea stars and crabs in the touch-and-feel tank, they both watched the other kids laugh, giggle and startle themselves.
One of their favorite elements of SEA LIFE was to learn about each fish in the tank through the touch screen displays in the museum. My kids love a gadget, and this was no exception. They loved walking through the 180-degree ocean tunnel, exploring tanks just-their-height, and let’s be honest… they totally dug the play area at the end of the exhibits. Will did get stuck at the top and needed help down, but this is nothing unusual for us! (God help me once my belly gets even bigger! That kid’s gonna have to get braver!)
Here are some more pics from our SEA LIFE fun:
Looking to make a visit? Here are the deets:
SEA LIFE is located at Concord Mills (Concord Mills: 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord, NC 28027) and the hours are Mon – Sat 10-9 and Sunday 12-7. The cost of admission is $21 per adult, $17 per child, and free for children 2 & under. There are group discounts, and they do host birthday parties. (Wouldn’t that be fun?) The exhibits took us about 90 minutes to walk through, and then at the end there are coloring stations and a large climb-on play area for the kids.
Are you planning to go? Let me know what you think!
As a member of the SEA LIFE Charlotte-Concord Parent Council I received admission in exchange for writing about my experiences. All opinions, as always, are my own!
I visited the Sea Life aquarium yesterday, at Concord Mills, with my two sons. We are a military family. My husband is active duty and has served in the US Army for twelve years. The Sea Life website states that it offers a military discount with a valid ID. After asking for a military discount and presenting my military ID, I was refused the military discount. The manager states that only those sworn in and serving our country are eligible for the discount. Well, let me inform Merlin Entertainments, the corporate sponsor for Sea Life, that each and every military wife, husband, son, and daughter serve and sacrifice for our country alongside their military member. Every attraction and business that I have encountered, that offers a military discount, honors and recognizes the dependent military ID holder. Until this corporation decides to change their policy and support military families, then I will no longer support their establishments. I will be writing Merlin Entertainments to voice my disappointment, and I encourage other military families to do the same.
Sorry you had such a negative experience. Best of luck with your efforts to work with Merlin Entertainments in this issue.