Rachel Roland is a mom on a mission - exploring beautiful Arizona (and beyond!) with her two little companions, Jeremiah and Sarah, in search of the best restaurants, attractions, and products for you and your children. See what she has in store for your family today!
How many times can you say you've touched a sea star? Or had a shark swim over your head, or a sea turtle swim under you? This, and much more, is possible at the amazing Sea Life Arizona aquarium at the Arizona Mills Mall in Phoenix! We love to visit because there's so much to explore, and every time we visit, it's a different experience. There's such a great focus on children and education, too - for example, when you enter the Sea Life Arizona aquarium, children are given scratch off cards that match up to the questions posted throughout the aquarium. If you get the answers right, you get a prize!
There are also multiple interactive exhibits, like these touch tanks where children (and adults) can touch sea urchins, sea stars, and more! Jeremiah and Sarah love being able to touch the creatures - I also like that this tank helps enforce that we need to be gentle with living creatures.
Another favorite spot is the 360 degree underwater tunnel, where fish, sting rays, sharks and Ziva, the rescued and rehabilitated green sea turtle (the first in Arizona!) You can easily stay here for quite a bit of time, just watching the fish swim around. Sarah was a little afraid at first, because the floor is see-through, but once we walked through a few times, she got used to it and had fun. You can also watch the shark feedings here but be sure to arrive early, as the tunnel gets packed - when we visited you actually couldn't even walk through it due to how many people were there!
After you've seen all the creatures, the kids can run off a little steam at the play area - it's a great place for you to sit and rest your feet, too! Of course, you can re-enter the aquarium from here or you can exit through the gift shop and - if you've completed your card - you can claim your prize!
The Sea Life Arizona aquarium is open Monday - Saturday from 10am-7:30pm and Sunday from 10am to 6pm. Tickets are available online at a discount, which I'd definitely recommend!
Photo courtesy Red Phoenix Photography
I'm Rachel - a mom, wife, and 'green' blogger at Small Steps On Our Journey. If you want me to come visit your place of business, have any questions on this article or suggestions for a future article, you can email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , tweet me at @rachelroland, or connect with me on Facebook.
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