Field Trip to Mystic Aquarium

Last Monday, we visited the Mystic Aquarium to kick off our study of marine biology.  As usual, we saw some amazing sights!  Unfortunately, we didn't get pictures of two of my favorites sights: a penguin with a sprained ankle, with a bright blue cast/bandage on his leg.  As if penguins don't look funny enough when they walk, this one had a limp.  Poor little guy!

Another really cool thing we didn't get a picture of was an octopus' tentacles spread across the glass of his tank.  They usually spend most of their time hiding, but the tank was being cleaned, so I think that's why he was out.  We had an excellent view of all the suction cups on his tentacles.

Now for (some of) the pictures we did get:

We checked out the beluga whales first, as we always do because they're closest to the entrance.  They're in an outdoor habitat and the sun was shining on the tank glass, so the pictures didn't come out great.  The youngest one (9 yrs. old) was in a particularly playful mood that morning!  He had what looked like an indoor/outdoor rug and was swimming around with it in his mouth, dropping it and grabbing it again.

I love how they look like they're always smiling.

Almost missed this close-up!

Now you see it....

Now you don't.

The moray eels are so creepy, yet strangely intriguing...

There were a couple of loggerhead turtle hatchlings at the aquarium.  They will be released when they are ready back to the wild in North Carolina.

The last thing we did was check out the Titanic exhibit, which we have seen before, but this time we watched a video of  Dr. Robert Ballard's ongoing exploration of the ocean floor.  It was very interesting and we learned that the next expedition will be July 1-September 1, and will be streamed live online here.  We will definitely remember to watch that!

All in all, it was a great day!

This post is linked to The Homeschool Field Trip Blog Hop