Two award winning aquariums offer insights into life under the sea

Aquarium

The Aquarium of the Pacific's beautiful Lookdown Fish are one of many engaging displays. We visit

it and Maui Ocean Center, another fine aquarium, in today's post about the creatures of the sea.

TAKE YOURSELF INTO A WORLDOF UNDERSEA WONDER AT FABULOUS CALIFORNIA, HAWAII AQUARIUMS

A life-size whale greets school children and families at

the spectacular Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach.

STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS

PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER

ONCE YOU'RE hooked on aquariums and can't miss a museum devoted to underwater wonders, you're a sea fan for life.  You never ignore an opportunity to get close to the creatures and life in the mysterious depths and alluring shadows of the sea.

We find pleasure in the grand ones -- like the fabulous Monterey Bay Aquarium-- and we've spent equally engaging time at tiny, impressive facilities devoted to the ocean, such as Hilo's fine Pacific Tsunami Museum.

The impressive Aquarium of the Pacific awaits

in Long Beach, with magnificent exhibits and

convenient nearby parking with plenty of other

enticements from shopping to dining in the area.

TWO RECENT finds merit our attention. They should both be on a "must see" list if you are a devotee and anywhere near. They are the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach and Maui Ocean Center in Hawaii.  

First, we take readers to the Long Beach facility.  It's an enormous, eye-popping place, with well marked exhibits guaranteeing a fabulous outing for all ages. We mingled on a week day with tourists, local families and school groups. It's a delightful learning sanctuary for singles and couples, too.  It features shows at many major exhibits. One offers a chance to mingle with and feed birds in the lorikeet forest.  We enjoyed the seal and sea lion exhibits featuring these magnificent creatures who live throughout our coastal waters. There's a shark lagoon with two touch pools, and children were enamored by these.

Frogs are front and center at Long Beach facility,

 a colorful array from around the world. You can 

paint your own virtual frog in Pacific Visions.

The aquarium offers an attractive outdoor space overlooking picturesque Rainbow Harbor. Times of the shows are announced and posted so you can plan your time.

        Visit Tsunami museum

The place, like the one in Maui, is dedicated to preservation.  It  hosts a modern veterinary hospital with holding tanks and animal habitats.  Experts are on hand to care for displaced or injured creatures.

 The splendid tropical reef habitat is the Long Beach aquarium's largest exhibit, with 350,000 gallons of saltwater. We spent nearly an hour watching fish, rays, sea turtles and sharks glide among the coral. This is a star of 100-plus exhibits and 19 major habitats, including a gallery devoted to southern California and Baja coasts. Among our favorite is the impressive penguin habitat with the playful Magellanic ones we saw recently on a trip  

The penguin exhibit at the Aquarium of the Pacific

has a fine penguin habitat and breeding program.

 off the South American coast. It's wonderful to see these beautiful creatures carefully tended and increasing under human care.

WE ARE devoted "frog fans," so the frog nursery completely captivated us.  We admired the flash red and black poison dart frog and learned that his venom is produced by the food he eats.  We were charmed by the Kaiser's Mountain Newt, endangered due to habitat degradation and fish predators. The place is a living classroom. You're certain to come away better educated about our fellow planet dwellers.

The aquarium offers great location, easy parking,

At Maui Ocean Center, artful scenes divide the

exhibits. This one was painted by communication

manager's daughter for a high school project, one

of the ways the aquarium involves and educates.

fabulous displays. Harbor Breeze Cruises in Long Beach has a partnership with the aquarium. Take advantage of that, to explore the ocean. It's an intriguing, world class facility. The smaller, equally dedicated Maui facility is noteworthy, too. Read on.

    *

A FEW THOUSAND miles across the Pacific, Maui Ocean Center is also an impressive facility. It features more than 60 interactive exhibits, including a nursery bay and a turtle lagoon where you can get close-up views of favorite marine life. We visited on a Sunday afternoon, surrounded by families learning about Hawaii’s diverse underwater world. 

Children of all ages peered at sea jellies, tropical reefs and a shy, corner-dwelling octopus, with nicely marked and pleasant outdoor trails to get you from one exhibit to the next. The place features over 11,000 animal species and more than 50 exhibits, showcasing the diverse marine life found in the Pacific. We were charmed by this aquarium for its originality, color, devotion to the sea and imaginative exhibits, enhanced by artwork created by locals.

Diver and Ocean Center staffer, Paul, shows

visitors how coral is grown and preserved

to insure it is not lost in these times of

threat to the oceans and coral.

THE PLACE is a riot of color.  From the vibrant colors of tropical fish to the sleek sea otters, we found an opportunity to learn at every corner.

In the coral reef lab, Paul explained how coral is incubated and reproduced to replace damaged or lost coral when necessary. Discovery, learning and educating the next generation are the bywords here.

The artwork is gorgeous, too, in this lovely facility near Wailuku.  Naturally, it focuses on Hawaii's unique marine life -- right out the door. 

"We think it's a great place to learn about the ocean’s beauty up close, with the shores right outside," says communication director Mike Morris. He emphasizes conservation and education goals of the aquarium. "We make a visit both fun and educational."

Maui Ocean Center is smaller than its Long Beach

Visitors to Maui Ocean Center will find pleasures

once inside the entry.  Guests are still outside

for many of the exhibits. There's a tunnel, too,

with sea creatures swimming above. 

  counterpart, but shares an equally interesting variety of inhabitants. There are colorful fish, beautiful sea turtles, sharks, rays and an impressive living reef exhibit, which showcases Hawaii's unique corals while preserving and growing replacements.

With exhibits aimed at awareness, it's fun to see children expanding their knowledge, asking questions, beginning to understand the importance of keeping the oceans healthy.

 WE ENJOYED an interactive experience featuring the humpback whale. It's a 3D "Sphere Experience" which transports guests into the underwater world of these fascinating, once endangered gentle giants. 

Jellyfish are well represented at both aquariums,

and both emphasize conservation and education.

Here, two graceful jellies seem to enjoy the day. 

Maui facility also pays homage to the indigenous culture and its connection to the ocean. “Hawaiians and the Sea” beautifully explains the historical and cultural significance of the ocean in Hawaiian society.

The Long Beach aquarium

collaborates with Harbor

Breeze Cruises for a lively

harbor tour. The operation

also offers whale watching.

 Like the Aquarium of the Pacific, Maui Ocean Center offers an artful entry. 

And once inside, you're "outside and in the sea" with a wealth of exhibits to entertain and educate about our precious oceans.

 Tickets, more information:

aquariumofpacific.org 562 590-3100

harborbreezecruises: 2seewhales.com; 562 432-4900

mauioceancenter.com 808 270-7000

Bruce Keller and Christene "Cookie" Meyers

enjoy an afternoon on the water aboard Endless

Dreams. They booked a Sunday brunch cruise

with City Cruises, which offers many options

 for special occasions or "just because" out of

various ports in southern California and beyond.

COMING SOON: With summer in full swing, so many options lure the traveler to explore, learn and enrich life. We're climbing aboard a beautiful yacht for a brunch cruise around picturesque Newport, California, then we spend an afternoon on the American Pride, a graceful three-masted schooner berthed in Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach. It is a proud California vintage sailing vessel, dedicated to education.  Then we hop on Big Bus to tour Singapore and Sydney, visit koalas and kangaroos in Lone Pine, Australia, and return to America to explore New York's lovely Central Park as it blossoms out with its summer cloak. We'll also head to New York's High Line to explore its gorgeous gardens and repurposed space, then head to Bermuda for a dive into its famous caves. Meanwhile, consider a City Cruises brunch or dinner cruise for a special occasion this summer, and remember to explore, learn and live. Catch us weekly for a fresh spin on travel, waterborne adventure, performance, the arts, family, nature and more.