If you follow me on Instagram, you might have noticed a lot of activities in my stories this past weekend! My family and I took a weekend road trip up to Massachusetts. My husband I had lived there briefly 2013-2015 and our son was born up there as well before we moved back to Long Island when he was 2 months old. Even in our short time up there, we had made incredible memories and found places that we loved! We even brought our dog Molly for the trip so she could revisit her old favorite park.
After taking the Cross Sound Ferry from Orient to New London, CT (to cut down on traffic and traveling time) we made our first stop at Francis William Bird Park in East Walpole, MA. This is the perfect pit stop for those traveling to Boston or beyond since it is right off of Interstate 95. It is a nicely sized beautiful park with walking paths, small hiking trails, pond, playground and “tot lot”. It was perfect for our 3 and 4 year old who like to walk on their own, without it being so big that it wasn’t manageable. The “tot lot” is something that I have not seen before – it is a court similar to a tennis court with hard flooring but it had a ton of toys such as push cars for the kids to play with. There was something for all toddlers and we had spent a good portion of our visit here.
The next day was our Boston day! I wanted to go to the New England Aquarium because it’s a place I never got to go while living there, and a place I thought we would love discovering for the first time with our kids. My children are HUGE animal lovers and aquarium aficionados. We decided to bring our stroller to the aquarium because we knew afterward the kids would be tired and we still had more of the city to discover. I am so glad we did because the Aquarium has a stroller check! Bingo! We were able to have to the convenience of the stroller before and after without having the hassle of dragging it around during our visit. This was a great bonus for us!
As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by an amazing and large penguin exhibit! There are over 80 African, rockhopper, and little blue penguins!
What makes this aquarium truly unique is its “Giant Ocean Tank!” This 4 story exhibit features a coral reef, and large windows so you can see all of its inhabitants easily such as sea turtles, stingrays, eels, and many fish! My absolute favorite though was the sea turtles! They were so huge and came right up to the glass. My kids were amazed!
Turtles seemed to have been the theme of our day because we also were able to enjoy “A Turtle Odyssey” in their state of the art IMAX Theater! I have always loved IMAX movies and how brilliant they look on the huge screen. “Turtle Odyssey” is one of three movie offerings currently available. This documentary follows the life of Bungee the female green sea turtle from when she emerges from her shell to when she returns back to her place of birth to become a mother, and all of her adventures in between! Green Sea Turtles are truly amazing creatures and we all loved this 40-minute immersive experience!
Another favorite part of the aquarium was the touch tanks. My children both have previously been intimidated to ever actually touch anything we have seen in other touch tanks. However, there was something about these that made them both “dive” right in! There are two touch tanks at this aquarium. One touch tank is the “Shark and Ray Touch Tank” the other is the “Edge of the Sea Touch Tank.” The Ray Touch Tank was wonderful in that there were an abundance of stingrays that were very friendly and continuously came right up to us along the edge. There was no food luring them, they were just that friendly! The “Edge of the Sea Touch Tank” was filled with animals you’d see in tide pools such as sea stars, urchins and anemone. Both tanks had educators that helped answer all of our questions.
An animal that surprised me was the Giant Pacific Octopus! This octopus lived up to its name with it being huge! The fun part was watching it swim from one end of the tank to the other. This way we got to see how brilliant its tentacles are and the octopus in al of its glory. This was for sure my husband’s favorite part!
No trip to an aquarium would be complete without seals and sea lion – my daughter’s favorite! Outside the entrance is the seal exhibit. There the seals kept swimming laps and coming up to us by the glass. This was a lot of fun and seemed like we were interacting with them through the glass. The sea lions were “outside” (covered) and were a lot of fun to watch when they were interacting with their trainers. They are like the “dog of the ocean” and very playful.
There was a nice cafeteria at the aquarium as well where we enjoyed lunch after visiting their gift shop. There was quite an array of food for adults and children alike for many different types of diets as well. It was nice to sit down and have a moment to re-group.
There are many things to do around the New England Aquarium as well. The aquarium also hosts whale watching tours! Right in front of the aquarium is the meeting spot for the popular Duck Boat Tour as well as many Boston Harbor Cruises of which I had done one with my husband when we were living there and they are a lot of fun!
We visited the nearby Greenway Carousel on our way to Quincy Market. There is also a small sprinkler pad nearby the aquarium too which is nice for the kids to cool off in during the summer heat. Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall is a very popular spot to visit with different shops and dining choices. Inside Quincy Market is a vast array of all sorts of cuisines available amongst the food kiosks.
We also continued our walk to the Boston Common and Public Gardens. There is another carousel there as well as a playground. I used to walk my son around in his stroller as a newborn, soaking up the green grass, trees and sunshine. At the Public Garden, you can also ride a swan boat!
Boston is a great city to explore with your family! There are so many fun things to see and do and we didn’t even dive into any of the historical sites! No matter what age your children are, there is something for everyone in Boston.TheNew England Aquarium is a wonderful addition to your trip and part of the lure and charm that makes Boston such a wonderful city.
Address & Hours of Operation
New England Aquarium, 1 Central Wharf, Boston MA 02110
Phone: 617-973-5200
Monday - Friday: 9am - 5pm
Weekends: 9am - 6pm
Visit local Macaroni Kid Massachusetts editions for even more family fun!
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I received complimentary one-day admission tickets to and IMAX tickets to the New England Aquarium for the purpose of this review. All opinions expressed are those of myself and my family.
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