My lovely friend Jillian of mommytesters.com is guest blogging for me in this post - she did an amazing job and it is wonderful to see her daughter Kayla's cute face grace my blog! (Girl envy!) Thank you Jillian & Kayla! (raisedbyculture.com was invited to a media preview)
In case you haven't heard, it's about to get extra stingy in SoCal. Okay, don't freak out or anything. Jellyfish are invading but it seems like they are very well contained (and really cool to check out) at the SEA LIFE Aquarium in LEGOLAND. While Xenia was playing nurse to a house full of sick kids, Kayla and I headed to LEGOLAND to check out the little creatures.
If you've never been, the SEA LIFE Aquarium is a really neat add on to LEGOLAND. Quite frankly, I think it's kind of a genius escape from the sun during the summer months when theme parks get hot and everyone needs a little time to cool off. Also, who wouldn't get a kick out of walking through a huge underwater tunnel while rays and sharks swim by overhead?
Plus there are lots of ways for your child to satisfy their need to be hands on. Like multiple touch pools filled with starfish, abalone and super squishy sea cucumbers just waiting to be discovered.
But back to the real reason why we came. Those jellyfish. They've got a serious party pad at the SEA LIFE Aquarium. I'm not kidding, think neon disco party pad. Which of course is awesome for showing off their little details as they move around the water. And very modern for creatures that actually pre-date dinosaurs.
Yes, Kayla's mind was fully blown when she heard that jellyfish have been around since before the time of dinosaurs. Her response - "that's SO old mommy, way older than daddy." That's my child! But honestly, not only are there cool jellyfish to look at, there is a lot of education available to learn about them and a couple of experts on staff to share their impressive knowledge.
We learned about a variety of jellyfish including how they eat and get around. Which is pretty interesting if you take into account the fact that they lack brains, hearts, nerves or blood! All of the kids loved watching the different jellyfish float around the tanks with their ghost-like movements.
And we had plenty of time to check out a crystal jellyfish up close and ask questions before moving on to some more fun. Think LEGO fun...
That's right, in keeping with the theme and knowing that kids really need lots of chances to get tinkering there is a giant LEGO sand castle near some of the touch pools that encourages kids to play and help add on to the build.
We finished off the evening with a very fun and easy jellyfish craft. I've created my own
jellyfish craft for you with step by step instructions that’s perfect for play, a school craft or party decor.
And of course Kayla had to take her jellyfish down the slide with her. Yes, there is an awesome slide inside of the SEA LIFE Aquarium that continues to integrate that hands on fun while surrounding your child with lots of nature and cool aquatic creatures to seek out.
If you're thinking about heading to the SEA LIFE Aquarium at LEGOLAND California, you can find out more
here.
Labels: Jellyfish Discovery, Legoland, Sea Life Aquarium
