Great Lakes Aquarium

A post about the adventures at the family gathering in the cabin is coming, don't worry, but it will take awhile to sort through photos, steal some from my mom, etc.  But it has been awhile since I've posted, and we went to the aquarium in Duluth yesterday morning, so here you go!

When we were at the cabin, we took a short trip to the Ice Age Interpretive Center.  Lilly loved it.  Especially the fish tank.  The fish tank that held three fish.  The girl was enamored.  Nick had the brilliant idea that we should take her to the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth.  He is a genius.

At first Lilly wasn't really into it, just kept pointing at something else, say "more" and we'd go explore that.  Then, she discovered the fish tank in the middle of the aquarium that had all sorts of big ugly fish in it.  The girl was enthralled.  She'd point and say "fish" and when bigger fish would swim up toward her she'd go "ooooh".  

They have a few other exhibits, none of interest to a 17-month old, except the boat with fishing pole and magnetic fish, and tree with the middle cut out for kids to explore the inside.  There is a slide, but it is a tube slide, so Lilly was not at all interested in it.  They do have a slide by the otter exhibit, but Lilly did not notice it, which we were thankful for, since who knows when we would have been able to leave then.  (Side note - I've been to the aquarium twice now and no otters.  They are always in the back of their exhibit, never playing outside for people to see.  I'd like this to change, otters.)

The lower level of the aquarium has some really neat looking tropical fish (most of the aquarium focuses on fish in Superior, which makes sense) but Lilly didn't really care about those fish.  They also have a big water table with boats, levees, etc for kids to play with but that was pretty full of kids when we were there and we needed to leave if we had a chance of Lilly taking a nap.  We were expecting a battle but she left with no fussing.  We must have been there for just the perfect amount of time.  

Lilly and the fish have similar expressions . . . 

We bought a family membership (the cost of 2.5 visits) and it was a smart move on our part.  It will be great to buzz over to Duluth to hit up the Aquarium in the winter when she gets stir crazy, or if we end up having a really rainy weekend.  It will also give me a chance to take photos without flash and keep kids and fish in focus.  It was just a wonderful morning, seeing our daughter so happy, excited, and curious about her world.