Twas the week before Christmas and Scuba Claus is making his rounds at SEA LIFE MICHIGAN aquarium making sure all the good fish had holiday treats. If you are looking to get in some last minute holiday shopping or a way to entertain kids while they are off school for Christmas break now is a good time to swing by Great Lakes Crossing Outlets in Auburn Hills to take in the mall's stores and entertainment spaces like SEA LIFE MICHIGAN. Through December 26, the aquarium will be having special Fish-mas activities and decorations for visitors to enjoy.
My family always enjoys a trip to our local SEA LIFE aquarium and a visit this week will be extra fun with their Fish-mas celebration. There will be holiday decor throughout the aquarium. Take a polar plunge dipping your hands into the cold water Touchpool filled with bright red and green sea anemones. Participate in a Christmas themed scavanger hunt along with more holiday themed surprises taking place this week.
If you are good boys and girls, visitors may catch a glimpse of Scuba Claus and his elves swimming about the Ocean Habitat. They have special treats for the fish and turtles that live there plus they are making sure the habitat is nice and clean. Ho Ho Ho! Merry Fish-mas!
SEA LIFE MICHIGAN is open from 10am - 6pm. Last entry is one hour before closing. Tickets must be purchased online in advance of arrival to reserve a time slot. For more information, head over to vistsealife.com/michigan
I took my 7 year old daughter to go see FINDING DORY and she found the movie absolutely adorable. In this sequel to 2003's FINDING NEMO which won the Academy Award for "Best Animated Feature", the friendly-but-forgetful blue tang fish Dory is on a mission to reunite with her loved ones, and everyone learns a few things about the real meaning of family along the way. It is a touching, well-done film that is perfect for a summer family outing to the movie theater and will definitely be a contender for its own Best Animated Feature Oscar.
As is the norm with movies from Disney's Pixar Animation Studios, a short film is shown before the feature presentation of FINDING DORY. Called "Piper" it tells the story of a hungry sandpiper hatchling who ventures from her nest for the first time to dig for food by the shoreline. The only problem is, the food is buried beneath the sand where scary waves roll up onto the shore. This short directed by Alan Barillaro and produced by Marc Sondheimer was delightful to watch and was a wonderful themed pairing to the sea life themes of FINDING DORY. On the drive home from the movie theater my daughter told me that Piper was her "favorite pre-movie movie" she's ever seen.
Since seeing FINDING DORY my daughter has been constantly asking me "Who is Sigourney Weaver?" The movie begins with Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres), still forgetful with her short-term memory problem, living happily on the Great Australian Barrier Reef with clownfish Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) and Nemo (voiced by Hayden Rolence). When an event triggers Dory's memories so that she begins to remember glimpses of her family and where she came from, the blue tang fish heads off to rediscover her past. This leads her to travel across the ocean to the Marine Life Institute (MLI), an aquarium and fish hospital on the coast of California, searching for her parents. Marlin and Nemo follow in close pursuit hoping to catch up to their friend and keep Dory out of trouble and danger. As Dory swims towards the MLI aquarium she is warmly welcomed to visit the place by the cameo voice of Sigourney Weaver. In the film, Weaver welcomes the aquarium's human visitors and narrates educational points at its exhibits projected through loud speakers. All the kids in the theater who apparently had no clue who the actress is were looking at their parents wondering why the adults were chuckling at the repeated references to Sigourney Weaver throughout the movie. This very well could become the signature gag of FINDING DORY.
The MLI serves as the principal location for the adventures in this film as Dory, Marlin and Nemo explore it looking for clues to Dory's past. FINDING DORY is not as much about searching to physically locate a missing Dory but rather about rediscovering her past so she can find elements of her life that she has been missing. Since the MLI plays such an important role in this movie here are some fun educational activity sheets that you can incorporate into your FINDING DORY movie experience that tie into it.
Dory, Marlin and Nemo are assisted in exploring MLI by a new cast of characters that include Hank (voice of Ed O'Neill), a cantankerous "septopus" -- an octopus who only has seven tentacles because he lost one in an aquarium incident -- who frequently escapes his tank; Bailey (voice of Ty Burrell), a beluga whale who is convinced his biological sonar skills are on the fritz; Destiny (voice of Kaitlin Olson), a nearsighted whale shark; Flake (voiced by Idris Elba) and Rudder (voiced by Dominic West), a pair of lazy sea lions; and a pack of very cute otters. For the most part these new characters are entertaining and likeable but to be honest are just frankly not as interesting as the supporting crew from FINDING NEMO. With the exception of Hank who is a great addition to the movie, really steals the show and is better than any of the supporting characters from FINDING NEMO. I found all the scenes involving Hank very funny and entertaining. Hank was by far my favorite character in the movie. Plus you'll want to watch all the humorous sequences involving him that they incorporate into the credits. My daughter didn't agree with me though on Hank being the best part of the movie giving that honor to ... baby Dory.
I have to admit that I never found Dory that endearing of a character in FINDING NEMO and was wondering how well her being the main character in a film would work out. In FINDING DORY, the movie creates a connection between the audience and the character through flashbacks featuring an adorable baby Dory that made everyone in the theater go "awe" every time she appears on the screen. These flashbacks combined with heartwarming story elements really allow Dory to stand on her own as a successful lead character for the movie. My daughter LOVED baby Dory and to be honest I did too.
Check out some of the new characters from FINDING DORY in these fun coloring pages:
So will Dory, Marlin and Nemo along with their new found friends at the MLI find Dory's parents? You'll have to go to the movie to find out! I will say though that you need to stay through the credits to see one final scene that really brings FINDING NEMO and FINDING DORY together full circle in a humorous way. Just Keep Swimming to your local movie theater to see FINDING DORY while it is at the cinema as it really is worth the big screen experience.
FINDING DORY is rated PG and is 97 minutes long. The PG rating is attributable to scenes that include a potentially scary incident with a one-eyed squid and a horrific moment with Dory trapped in a bucket full of dead fish that could be disturbing for some children. For more information, visit movies.disney.com/finding-dory
We always make a special effort a few times per year to take a road trip with our kids to visit the TOLEDO ZOO because it really is a great park and a nice change of pace with different exhibits and animals on display to enjoy from our own local Detroit Zoo which with our annual membership itself is a pretty frequent destination for our family. So it really wasn't that much of a surprise when we heard that this Midwestern factory town's zoo was named by USA TODAY as the "Best Zoo in the USA" and "one of the top 10 zoos in the U.S." by Family Fun Magazine. The Toledo Zoo is home to more than 9,000 animals representing over 800 species. It also just completed a new 178,000 gallon aquarium so that a visit to the zoo not only lets you observe land animals but also takes you under the sea.
Because the Detroit Zoo is just a few minute drive from our house we've become pretty accustomed to that place so making a trip to the Toledo Zoo is always a special treat to check out new things. My kids favorite three features of the Toledo Zoo ( the hippoquarium, elephant exhibit & salt water aquarium) aren't available to see at our local zoo making the experience out of the ordinary and extra special for them. These exhibits really provide a close up views of these creatures allowing for some extraordinary experiences.
The Hippoquarium
Visitors to this exhibit are treated to a view of the underwater world of Nile hippopotamus. This 360,000 gallon pool has a filter system that cleans 8,000 gallons of water every 90 minutes to help provide a clear closeup view of the hippos as they lounge and wander about underwater. My kids always are thrilled when they have an up close encounter with these humongous creatures.
Elephants of the Savanna
Speaking of larger creatures, right next door to the hippoquarium is the elephant enclosure. Whenever my daughter brings up a trip to the Toledo Zoo the first thing she references is wanting to go see the elephants. The Toledo Zoo enlarged and renovated this exhibit in 2012 providing for expanded viewing areas for people and more stimuli for the African elephants that call it home including elevated feeders, enrichment walls and trees that creating a dynamic space for the animals.
The Hippoquarium and Elephants of the Savanna exhibits are part of a larger themed African Safari themed display area called the Tembo Trail. As you venture along the Tembo Trail in addition to elephants and hippos, you'll also encounter lions, white rhinoceros, spotted-necked otters, slender-snouted crocodiles, naked mole rats and meerkats.
Aquarium
After a two and half year closure for a $25 million dollar expansion and renovations just re-opened in the Spring of 2015. This
exhibit has transformed a 46,000 gallon aquarium that had mostly
displayed local freshwater varieties of fish into a 178,000 immersive
underwater experience where people can view more than 3,000 creatures
from a variety of ecosystems around the world.
We took a road trip this summer to the Toledo Zoo just to check out the new aquarium facility and I have to say it really is fin-tastic! CLICK HERE to check out A Geek Daddy's review of the Toledo Zoo's aquarium "Sea-ing the Toledo Zoo Aquarium is Fin-tastic!"
Playgrounds
It just figures though that my kids enjoy playing at the Toledo Zoo almost as much as venturing around observing all the wonderful animals. The zoo has a nice area called Nature's Neighborhood that has a playscape area featuring a kids only tree house to explore, rock walls to climb and a stream to wade in. There is also the Jumpin Junction indoor workshop area that has projects to do and presentations to see throughout the day all year long. At Jumpin Junction kids can see themselves on a large TV screen with backgrounds from the natural world behind them or they can play around with animal costumes and puppets for a fun experience.
During the warmer months there also are daily performances at 2 pm each day featuring Toledo Zoo animals at the outdoor Fisher-Price Discover Stage for families to enjoy or you can pet African pygmy goats in Nature Neighborhood's Goat Yard.
As part of the aquarium renovation, the Toledo Zoo also just installed a great aquatic splash pad play area directly behind that facility that also includes oceanic themed play structures like a giant crab holding a tire swing in its pinchers.
A few other highlights of trip to the Toledo Zoo include taking a train ride around Africa! which circles a field filled with zebras, giraffe, wilderbeest, ostrich, and wild dogs; trekking through the Arctic Encounter to view polar bears and seals; meandering through the Primate Forest filled with lemurs, monkeys, and red pandas; and a walk through the reptile house which features a giant saltwater croc. CLICK HERE for a map with a full layout of the zoo.
Of course we can't head home for the day until we've taken a ride on the old fashion carousel situated by the park's main entrance.
If you happen to be visiting the area the Toledo Zoo has a nice Out-of-town Visitor Guide on its website to help with planning a trip to the zoo. If you can make it to Toledo, A Geek Daddy recommends that a visit to their zoo is well worth it. You'll always discover something that will put a smile on your at the Toledo Zoo!
When our family heard that the Toledo Zoo's Aquarium was open after having been closed for two and half years for an expansion and renovations we just had to make a road trip to go check it out. This new $25 million investment in the exhibit has transformed a 46,000 gallon aquarium that had mostly displayed local freshwater varieties of fish into a 178,000 immersive underwater experience where people can view more than 3,000 creatures from a variety of ecosystems.
One of the key additions to the renovated aquarium is its interactive touch tank and ocean lab area. Children and kids at heart of any age can experience touching sting rays, sharks, crabs, and sea stars. There is a large open tank you can walk around and simply place your hand in the water to pet something. The sting rays will actually seek out submerged hands to get a nice rub against.
There is also a second tank area where you can walk up to get a close up view of creatures like crabs and sea stars plus give them a pet if you'd like.
My daughter really enjoyed a display they had with jelly fish. It featured a control panel where you could switch the coloring of the lights in their tank allowing visitors to illuminate the jelly fish in different shades of colors. My kids were just wowed by this and I do have to say it was a stunning sight to behold.
My son's favorite part of the ocean lab was a wheel you pushed to open and close the jaws of a Great White shark demonstrating the pressure of its bite. That's definitely not something you would want to experience in real life.
The heart of the new aquarium facility is its brand new 90,000 gallon Pacific Reef tank. Prior to the renovation, the largest tank in the aquarium has held 7,600 gallons of water to highlight the scope of this exhibit's expansion. The Pacific Reef tank is full of colorful coral and fish plus of course what people come wanting to see at an aquarium, sharks.
The touch tank and ocean lab section isn't the only interactive aspect of the aquarium. The Pacific Reef tank features daily presentations at 11 am, 1 pm and 3pm where trained divers give feeding demonstrations and wear microphones so they can talk to people who are watching them. During our visit the diver swam up to where my kids were my kids were viewing her and begin communicating and interacting with them. It was really a memorable moment that my children have brought up quite a few times in conversations since our visit.
The renovation has expanded the saltwater displays in the aquarium from 37% of its space to 87%. In addition to the touch tanks and the Pacific Reef tank some other new displays include the aquarium's second largest tank which highlights the Gulf of Mexico and features a rays, a sea turtle, and sharks, a Kelp Forest with leopard sharks and bat rays, and a view of the Deep Sea with giant Japanese spider crabs.
Freshwater fish haven't been forgotten or tossed aside in the renovation either. There are displays highlighting South America's Amazon and Asia's mangrove forest underwater ecosystems. Of course the aquarium needed to preserve its local educational aspect as well so there is a Lake Erie Islands & Ohio Waterways display as well featuring fish that range from tiny minnows to incredibly large growing sturgeon. The alligator turtle was quite an impressive sight as well and not something I'd want to bump into while swimming in a river or lake.
One final note - you're going to want to bring your swim suit with you to this aquarium. No you won't be swimming with the fishes but the Toledo Zoo has added a very nice oceanic themed splash pad and playground behind the aquarium for families to enjoy during their visit. Yes that's a whale spouting out water at you and a crab you can swing from!
We really enjoyed sea-ing the new Toledo Zoo Aquarium and had a fin-tastic time! If you happen to be visiting Toledo or not too far away to make a road trip, A Geek Daddy highly encourages you to pay it a visit.
