Taking Your Toddler To The National Aquarium

 

Taking Your Toddler To The National Aquarium | National Aquarium

I have been going to the National Aquarium in Baltimore for as long as I can remember. We have lived within about an hour of it so it is a fun day trip. The aquarium is located right on the Inner Harbor so it's close to restaurants and lots of other activities. Going to the aquarium and then spending the rest of the time exploring the Inner Harbor is a great plan for a fun day trip with your family.

Taking Your Toddler To The National Aquarium | Parking & Tickets

There are several parking garages in the Inner Harbor area where you can park and then walk to the aquarium. The Aquarium itself does not have it's own parking but there are two garages that offer discounted costs for Aquarium attendees, Lockwood Place Garage & LAZ Inner Harbor Garage. In order to get the discount, take your parking ticket from either garage and get it validated at the Aquarium's information desk. The garages will honor the discounted rate when you pay for your parking. You can learn more about how it works here.

Entrance to the Aquarium is not cheap. Admission covers entrance to all of the exhibits inside the Aquarium. You can purchase entrance to the 4D movie or special behind the scene tours for additional cost.  You can learn more about tickets, tours and costs here.

You can also purchase an Aquarium Membership which is ideal if you are planning on going more than once in one year. You can learn more about that here.

Taking Your Toddler To The National Aquarium | Jackie's Favorite Parts

At almost 2, Jackie might have been a little young to go but she has been obsessed with animals lately and The Husband's sister was in town so we thought we would go. There were some great parts of the aquarium that Jackie loved and there were some other parts that she could have cared less about.

Jackie's absolute favorite part was the Jellyfish exhibit. She was so overwhelmed by it she actually sat on the floor and looked around in awe. It was adorable.

Jackie also loved the Pacific Coral Reef and the Shark Alley exhibits. The way they are set up is really cool because it you can walk down the ramps and watch the fish as you go. There are lots of places to stop and watch and the windows are huge.

Taking Your Toddler To The National Aquarium | Dolphin Discovery

The largest exhibit at the Aquarium is Dolphin Discovery. When I was a kid, and until about 7 years ago, there was a series of dolphin shows every day. Now, the dolphins are always in their tanks but there aren't shows. You can sit in the exhibit and watch the dolphins whenever you want for as long as you want. The dolphins are incredibly entertaining and there are talks that happen throughout the day that you can attend to learn more about the dolphins.

Jackie was thrilled to sit in the stands and watch the dolphins swimming around. Her favorite part was to go to the window below the stands and watch the dolphins in the water. That is where I snapped that awesome picture of her!

The dolphins are going to be moved to a sanctuary by the sea at some point. The location and timing of this is unknown but you can stay updated about this via the Aquarium's website.