Keep the sharks in the tank, please

Aquarium20
Originally uploaded by Elfinmoon.

About three miles south of our hotel is one of the nation's finest aquarium's, the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center. The name recently changed (from the Virginia Marine Science Museum) indicating its continued emphasis on the aquarium aspects of the facility. This is no hands off, staid, look-at-stuffed-and-dead-things museum.

One of the top ten most visited aquariums in the nation, the mission of the Aquarium is "To increase the public's knowledge and appreciation of Virginia's marine environment and inspire commitment to preserve its existence." How do they do it? They have:

• 800,000 gallons of aquariums


• Live animal habitats


• More than 300 hands-on exhibits


• 1/3-mile nature trail


• ½-acre aviary


• "Larger that life" movies on an IMAX movie screen

The Aquarium is open 0900 to 1900 daily; the cost to enter is $12 or $17 for the aquarium and the IMAX theatre.

As long as the sharks stay in the tank... perhaps we'd like to visit?