As soon as you tell the kids your next vacation spot is one of the North Carolina aquariums they may become very excited to see Nemo. Sadly, you must inform them that Nemo lives in the Pacific Ocean and we live closest to the Atlantic, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t fish way bigger and cooler than Nemo in our local waters!
Opened in 1976, all three NC aquariums are in or near the Outer Banks and have all been vastly renovated to include thousands of square feet of marine entertainment and education. The Roanoke Island Aquarium is obviously on the land mass with the same name in Manteo; Fort Fisher Aquarium is approximately 15 miles south of Wilmington; Pine Knolls Shore Aquarium is only a few miles west of Atlantic Beach and a little over three hours from the Raleigh area. All three aquariums have their own unique exhibits and activities, but Pine Knolls Shore’s new additions and over 90,000 square feet make it a must-see during your beach vacation.
Naturally, the Pine Knolls aquarium separates its attractions by North Carolinian geographic types; the five main exhibits are the Piedmont, Mountain, Coastal Plain, Tidal Waters, and Ocean. Each aquatic habitat houses hundreds of NC marine species sure to shockingly delight the little ones, whether you see a massive alligator, silly badger, a turtle larger than your average dog, or fish of all shapes and sizes.
The summer season, despite the crowds, is the best time to visit the aquarium since it provides a well-received relief from the heat and a few hours of entertainment for the kids that’s educational at the same time. They’ll never feel like they’re in school when participating in the variety of programs and tours Pine Knolls Shore offers. Any day of the week you choose to visit, the aquarium hosts an activity for everyone to enjoy – eat breakfast onsite and feed the fish, take surfing lessons on the NC coast, tour behind-the-scenes of the aquarium and see what the employees do daily, explore Bogue Sound and its inhabitants, or take a walk on the beach lit by the moon to find loggerheads or see sea turtles. There are many more programs to get the whole family involved, and at modest prices, each activity morphs the aquarium from a bunch of big fish tanks to an interactive water wonderland.
Pine Knolls Shore Aquarium and its two sister aquariums are open year-round 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with only Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s days as exceptions. Group, student, school personnel, and senior admission discounts make the reasonable admission price even more so. Check out the aquariums’ Web site at www.ncaquariums.com for more visitation info about visiting or the summer camps and programs available to youngsters you know.
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