Category Archives: Connecticut

Cruising with the Maritime Aquarium

  By Anne Patrone | July 28, 2011 - 11:00 am | , , , , , , ,
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Maritime Aquarium Science Cruise

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT is a great outing for kids of all ages, but if you have tweens or teens like I do, you might want to consider bumping up your visit’s excitement level with a special Marine Life Study Cruise.

Offered daily in July and August, and on Saturdays April through June, a 2 1/2 hour cruise of the Norwalk Harbor and Long Island Sound is an adventure your children aren’t likely to forget.

With a 7:1 ratio of scientist to passenger, this Maritime Study Cruise is more than just a pleasant boat ride. Kids participate in collecting scientific data on the specimens collected in three separate trials.

After learning about plankton, we took a sample from just below the water’s surface.

Surface water sample

While the crew was setting up the next session, we crowded inside the small boathouse to examine what we had just collected under the microscope. Our group found lots of “comb jellies” which are related to jellyfish.

The next sample had us dragging the bottom of Long Island Sound.

What will we find?

The kids got to search through the results for hermit crabs and mollusks, which were then explained in easy to understand terms.

Sifting through the dredge sample

Samples from our dredging

Last, but not least, we used a net to trawl through the waters. The kids helped pull in the heavy net

Hauling in the net

and then we got to examine our booty!!

Lots of horseshoe crabs, flounders, and one blue crab

Each fish was identified, explained, measured, and then logged into a data sheet before being released back into the water.

Identifying the fish we caught

Measuring horseshoe crabs

I’ve never seen kids so excited to handle live fish and crabs. Talk about a great way to encourage future scientists!

Thank you, Maritime Aquarium for a great day and a fabulous outing. I couldn’t ask for a better experience to write about for my 200th post!

Maritime Aquarium – Fun for All Ages

  By Anne Patrone | July 27, 2011 - 11:52 am | , , , ,
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Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT

With my father in town for a long weekend, I thought we’d head back to a local family favorite – the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT. The aquarium is devoted to preserving Long Island Sound and its main focus is on the aquatic life in and around the area.

Kid-wise, this is an incredibly easy aquarium to visit – not too big and with just enough interesting things that even a quickly bored tween/teen can enjoy.

The Maritime Aquarium has a unique design feature that stands out in my book. Starting out at the top of the building (after saying hello to the several seals swimming in the center hall’s pool), you’ll actually work your way down without ever hitting another stair.

At the top, we learned about life in an estuary (where fresh water and salt water mix) . . .

Learning about aquatic life at Norwalk Aquarium

. . . then spent a large chunk of time just watching two otters frolic and play.

There’s a great touch tank where kids can touch and learn about horseshoe crabs and other sea life native to the region.

Slimy cool stuff 

Further along there’s a nice tank filled with . . . gulp . . . a few sharks.

Shark at the Norwalk Aquarium

I always think of sharks as living somewhere warm . . . like Florida . . . and then I remember that Jaws (which I have never watched all the way through) was supposed to have taken place in the North Atlantic.

Further along, another tank holds large turtles, with a nearby display explaining the life cycle of a turtle (and how few actually make it from egg to turtle). Then a small display of jellyfish . . . and bam! you’re back on the ground level . . . just in time to watch the seals get fed.

Seal ready for feeding at Maritime Aquarium
The ground level of Maritime Aquarium has rotating displays, another touch tank filled with rays . . .
Ray touch tank at the Maritime Aquarium
. . . and a great area where kids can build their own boat.
Toy boat building station

When my guys were little (and their grandfather was visiting), we did this activity with them. They kept their boats for ages (and one still has his . . .), playing with them in the bathtub.

Add in a lunch and some time playing outdoors, and you have a perfect day for kids. 
But if you have tweens or teens, you might consider what we did next . . . .

Mystic Seaport & the Fourth of July

  By Anne Patrone | August 14, 2010 - 9:14 am | , , , , , , ,
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Mystic Seaport is designed to resemble a whaling town during the mid-1800s and my boys loved the easy history lesson it provided.

Since we went on the Fourth of July, we were treated to activities that would have occurred during that era – a parade, musicians playing in the grandstand, an old-fashioned baseball game (guys loved that one), and making ice cream the old-fashioned way – by cranking it out.

We spent half of the day there – climbing into ships, making our own, and just wandering around.

An old-fashioned float
Learning to communicate via flags

There were activities throughout the day which were very kid-friendly: helping with the ice cream, playing baseball, and participating in the parade.

Exhibits and homes (manned by costumed volunteers) were helpful and easy to understand.  The best exhibit was a hands-on area where the guys tied knots, learned semaphore (flag language), and discovered why pulleys make lifting easier.

For a steamy fourth of July, this was a perfect balance of old and new.  And although my youngest was tired of climbing into ships by the end of the day, a quick dip in the pool back at our motel made everyone relax.

Twenty-two places visited, 478 to go.

Mystic Aquarium: A “Touch” Experience

  By Anne Patrone | August 10, 2010 - 10:53 am | , , , , ,
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Touching the rays

One of the best things about Mystic Aquarium is its size – not too big, not too small.  You could easily spend a leisurely day there – or see everything in a couple of hours like we did.

Going nearer the end of the day means the crowds have thinned and parents with tired children are returning to air-conditioned motel rooms or hotel pools.  Which means – yeah! – fewer crowds.

We started off at the Stingray touch pool.  These guys were incredibly friendly – often rising up out of their tank for a gentle pat.

Next, onto to the Beluga whale area.

With two places to view them (above and below the water), the whales put on quite a show.  According to the volunteer (aquarium guide???) posted near the exhibit, they are complete hams.

Which brings me to another nice aspect of the aquarium.  Posted near each outdoor exhibit are handlers who periodically (like every 10-15 minutes) give a quick blurb about the animals.  They also answer questions and point out unique characteristics of the animals.

An African penguin with their toys

At the penguin exhibit (our next stop), the handler pointed out a new arrival and explained the differences between African and Antarctic penguins.  Seals and an indoor exhibit with lots of tanks (a shark touch pool) rounded out the animal related exhibits.

Last, but not least, we viewed an exhibit devoted to underwater exploration – specifically, the discoverer of the Titanic wreckage: Dr. Robert Ballard.

My oldest is a nut about anything Titanic and the exhibit answered several questions about how the wreck was found and the history of underwater exploration.

The aquarium didn’t make the newest edition of Frommer’s 500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up, but I think it’s still a worthwhile stop.  Its size makes it an easy place to visit for all ages and we learned more about animals here than at several other zoos/aquariums we’ve visited.

So, 21 places visited, 479 to go.

Mystic & Mashantucket – A Great Weekend Trip

  By Anne Patrone | August 6, 2010 - 3:05 pm | , , , , , ,
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This past Fourth of July, we decided to stay local and visit the Mystic, CT area to see some of the sights/places in Frommer’s 500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up.


The plan was to visit four spots (one of which is no longer in the current edition) – Mystic Aquarium, Mystic Seaport, the Flying Horses carousel in Rhode Island, and the Mashantucket Pequot Indian museum at the Foxwoods resort.

The museum is only open Wednesday through Saturday, so by default, it was our first stop.

What to say about a museum a little over a decade old andbuilt with excess profits fromthe Foxwoods casino?

Wow!

The building (with an amazing viewing tower and spectacular glass atrium) was clean, well-run, and still shiny-new.  Inside, the exhibits are displayed in a logical manner (after, of course you pass through the initial ‘how-we-got-the-money-for-this-place’ exhibit).

The museum is kind of a one-way only street.  You begin in pre-historic time around the Ice Age, then evolve through exhibits detailing Native American life pre-European settlement, life during European settlement, and lastly the integration of the Pequots into European/American life.

As can be expected, the dioramas are incredibly life-like and detailed.  My guys were fascinated with a scene depicting a caribou hunt.  Sound effects and running water add to the experience.  The only complaint was that there was little written explanation in the recreation of a Pequot village (an audio tour is available, but the sound quality was poor and the explanations long-winded).

Still, the museum is well-worth the time (figure on 2 – 2 1/2 hours depending on the level of interest) and money ($15 per adult & $10 for kids 6-15).

Twenty places visited, 480 to go.