Sea Life: Meet Ziva Event Review

On Sunday I was excited to attend a very special event!  It was for Ziva's arrival!  We all started in the play area where you usually end your tour.  The kids all took their shoe's off per the sign and went nuts.  I still love how this play area has aquariums in it for the kids to check out the lobster or visit the fish when they need a brake from climbing up to the yellow submarine in the sky.  My 1 year old was a little too small for this, but his sister my 2 year old had a blast!  As we waited for the rest of the bloggers to arrive the kids went crazy crawling, sliding, and climbing!

We were then taken to the theater where we watched the informational on Ziva and the tunnels transformation for her arrival.  The kids were allowed to ask questions at the beginning regarding the aquarium and Ziva.  A few bravely asked their questions before the informational began.  My younger kids were less entertained by it until Sharky came on!  They all stared and watched Sharky bouncing around the screen.  We got to have a view seen by not many others after this.  In groups we were taken back to see Ziva in her holding and feeding pen.

The kids were very excited, us mom's were terrified as we had our kids on the metal grated walkway that hovers over the tank with the pen on one-side and shark infested water on the other.  So, while the kids giggled pointed and a few showed interest in wanting to jump right in, us moms white fisted their little shirts, sweated, and forced smiles so the kids could get to see Ziva in her special place and get an air view of the tunnel tank fish.  Honestly, had I not had a 2 year old and 1 year old to worry about I would have better noticed the beauty of the site and felt like jumping in myself with Ziva and her friends so close.  The temptation of touch probably would have been felt by me too, if I wasn't worried about my kid's own temptation to touch! 

We then got to see the tunnel and my 2 year old was honestly afraid to walk through it as the floor was a window to the fish below and she seemed unsure if she should step on it without holding my hand.








It was really amazing to watch the sharks and sting rays below and above.  We checked out the rest of the aquarium and the kids loved anything they could stick their heads in, crawl through, step on, touch, get splashed by, or walk through.








The favorites for the day were the jelly fish aquarium,










the bubble aquarium (stick your head in),











 interactive floor (step on),













tide pools(splashed),

























the touch tables (touch),



















tunnels (walk through),















and play area (crawl through).

By the end the whines were starting and tummy's were growling.  I went home with two kids who passed out, but had a blast.  Ziva was introduced to her new home where she seemed to favor the dinosaur skeletons foot as a hiding spot and was comfy just cuddling down in the sand.  It seemed that Sunday was a day for new adventures and then settling into the comforts of a well deserved home for all.



I really loved getting those special moments with Ziva since they are moments that they kids will look back in the albums and get to say wow, I got to see something special.  Supporting Sea Life and what they have done for Ziva and other turtles and animals like her is something we can all feel good about for a lifetime.  If I were looking for something to both educate and exhaust my kids this is a great place to visit!  It supports helping out injured animals plus you get to expose your kids to the world outside their own backyard.  The knock out naps that follow are an added bonus!