Monday March 06, 2006 Birch Aquarium at Scripps
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After the trip to the San Diego Zoo, we adjusted our plans for the final two days vacation in Southern California. We would spend Thursday morning at the Birch Aquarium at Scripps, then head up to Lego Land for the remainder of the day and also on Friday. More on the Lego Land trip in a future post.
Duncan is really into all things fishy, so the aquarium was perfect. It's easy to get to (just off I5) and gives you free three hour parking (I wish Monterey Aquarium did that). Even though there were a couple school field trips present while we were there, it didn't get too crowded. (I actually wonder whether it's very well known.)
This is a much smaller aquarium than Monterey and the admission price correctly reflects that, but it's still hard not to make comparisons. The tanks are well presented with interesting information on each exhibit. We even got personalized attention from one of the staff as we wandered around so Duncan was able to chat her up with all his questions. She still even had a smile on her face at the end of it.
Lots of different species on show. They have a "small" Kelp Forest. There's a tide pool outside with great views of the ocean and the beach below. The Art of Deception exhibit was superb. We spent quite a while trying to find the animals hidden in plain sight. There were some Leafy Sea Dragons (which puts them one up on Monterey).
My favorite had to be the feeding of the cuttlefish. If you aren't familiar with these animals, they extend a feeding tenticle to capture their food. They are also true masters of blending in with their background. The chameleon of the ocean. Check out the Wikipedia entry for more details, or watch these amazing Cuttlefish videos [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6].
( Mar 06 2006, 06:49:13 AM PST ) [Listen] Permalink
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