Adventure in the Aquarium

Adventure Aquarium, Camden - NJ

Home of two dozen sharks in 760,000-gallon open-ocean tanks, 4,000 aquatic animals and a great 4D show about aquatic life.... made us think probably a trip to the Aquarium would be a ideal weekend get away for the kids and us :-)

My kids 3 yr old boy and 18 month old daugher ... know what a "fish" is and are fond of THE Famous Nemo :-) Back at home, at my parents house ... we have a small Fish Tank at home. My dad loves fish and during our visit sometime back, my kids spent endless time looking at the colorful fish and sparkling water. It used to be their favourite pastime.

So , last weekend ... the great sunny, warm weather prompted us to get going. The drive took us less than an hour to get there. The good part about the Adventure Aquarium in Camden is that it allows strollers. I know Baltimore aquarium doesnt permit strollers. I remember how difficult it was when we went there during the time my son was less than 6 months old. We had to carry the infant car seat and My God! it was tiring !

The place :

The parking is very close to the aquarium and it costed us around $10. Its walkable distance from the parking to the aquarium.

The ticket counter had long queue and it was crowded. While standing there with the kids, the wind made us feel a little chilly and I really wished we had bought atleast some kind of fleece with us. The ticket costs about $20 plus the tax and the 4-D show is another $5 bucks extra. Below 2 yrs old - its free and above 2 its $15 pluz tax and 4-D extra.

My son also got to wear this fancy hat too ... since it was Hippo's birthday that day .. Hippo names Button's Birthday Bash! That cheered him up and the sight of all the other kids wearing similar hats.... excited him :-)

The Exhibits :

The Aquarium exhibits are divided into 4 blocks - A, B, C & D. Except for the block - D where the Shark Canal is ... most parts of the aquarium that displayed the exhibits had a dim light. The place seriously lacks adequate light to read signs explaining exhibits.

The exhibits are very poorly labeled or not labeled at all. The names and information about the exhibits are on top of the exhibits , close to the celing ... the place, most people would miss or not look at all! At one point through the light-less cave, I felt I was looking at the same type of fish/sharks over and over again :-)

The path through the exhibits is kinda narrow and crowded. The reluctant visitors surrounding the exhibits .. who did not want to move and then the strollers that either kept knocking onto other strollers or people walking beside them ..... almost made it even more difficult to move around. It was a sort of bumper car things going on there ;-)

If this is the case with me ... imagine the kids!! My son was soon bored and wanted to go home and it was more or less the same thing with my daughter too. Since it was the Hippo's birthday that day, there was loud music playing. The kids were playing with paper and watching the orchestra play. The Aquarium Staff dressed up as sharks and other animals were dancing and posing photos with kids. I guess all these things scared my son off .. especially the costumes. He totally freaked !!!

Then the D-block. Finally some light!! The huge room where they keep the hippos was packed with people. There was not even an inch of place for us to even take a peek because of the birthday thing going on. I should tell you...the place was very stinky.

The Shark Tunnel is the next exhibit ... the one I enjoyed,

personally! Before entering the Tunnel ... it says the capacity should'nt exceed more than 43 people. But I should say there were lot many people there and there was no one who kept a check on it ... so enter at ur own risk ;-) But the pictures we took there were awesome...its worth a stop :-)

Food :

The food is highly overpriced. The cost for 2 adult and 2 children is around $30 to eat there, and we really didn't get anything much to eat. Most of them are deep-fried snacks or sugary / creamy cakes/pie s kinda stuff. I would say it would be ideal if you can get lunch packed from home or from you fav restaurant. The seating area inside close to the cafeteria is crowded and noisy, something to expect that with the mass of children and families. The outdoor seating area would be ideal as it looked much quieter and got a lot of sun! We sat outside by the water and since the weather was

pleasant... its a nice spot to sit and relax. Ofcourse .... just hope there is no body smoking around you. You can see the Ben-Franklin bridge from there. Its a perfect Kodak location :-)

4-D show :

Soon it was it wme for our 4-D show. They ask us to go in 10 minutes before the show starts. The strollers are not allowed inside. The moment u are inside ... the visitors are made to wait. The waiting room is not big enough and with everyone inside... it made the place very very crowded. Becasue of this, me and my husband had to carry the kids while standing. It was very tiring! Once inside the theatre, before you start getting comfortable... the show is over! My piece of advice - - Don't waste your money on the 4-D shows .. the 17 minutes of good-for-nothing movie is really not worth the $5 extra..trust me!

The Gift Shop :

The shark tunnel area ends up dumping you in an incredibly large gift shop. The place is huge , colorful and well- lit ;-) Secure your wallets while making you way through this tempting area!! The place is too expensive. The sooner you can find your way out of the exit ... its that much better ;-)

Overall Experience :

We all were pretty tried by the end of the day. We had a different kind of adventure with our kids. After a few exhibits, my son got tired looking at the same fish again and again. He was bent up on leaving the place as soon as possible ... thanks to the shark costumes ... some staff were wearing. Soon we were pushing the empty strollers through the crowds and each of us were carrying the kids as they didnot feel like walking anymore ... that tired us..totally! I felt my 18 month and 3 year olds might be too young for this aquarium

Unlike some of the reviews I read online , the place is highly overrated. The re design of the building is not done in the right way. I felt the place around the exhibits was very narrow and small. At the same time... there are empty places in the aquarium which look wasted. I just felt that the entire place was very boring and not as interactive as I would have expected. The place best suites kids who are a little older may be.

On the other hand, we had our fun by the water side... took some pictures ... kids got out of the house and saw something new. The warm weather is compliementing! Most of all...we all spent quality time together :-)

My Ratings - 2 out of 5