When Kansas City had discussed building an aquarium on the riverfront, references to the Seattle aquarium were frequent. People recommended that it should be modeled after the Seattle aquarium. So, while in Seattle, I wanted to visit this showcase. It is open 365 days a year with suggestions to call about operating hours on holidays.
The building is easy to locate as there are numerous signs all along the waterfront in downtown Seattle. The ticket booth had a short line, but we were quickly able to purchase our tickets ($9 an adult). The different fish tanks were easily accessible and the information pertaining to the fish, water type, water temperature was easy to read. In various places around the tanks, kids could examine models of the different fish scales and octopus legs.
Many of the sea items were from Puget Sound. My favorite was the octopus. Very impressive. My wife liked the Leafy Seadragon and was not able to take a picture as the sign said that flash pictures would scare the fish. The lady next to us did not care as she took a flash picture even after being reminded to turn off her flash. Some people...
The second building is an environmental building, with sectioned off areas that emulate the different shore lines. They are full of fish, sealife and birds. Walking down a plank, we viewed the salmon ladder and listened to the various information on salmon from birth to returning home.
From there, we progressed into the dome. This was a mostly glass area under Puget Sound, with excellent viewing area of the ocean. There were floor level windows as well as windows all along the top. A bench is set up round the perimeter, facing the glass so people can sit and view the underwater life.
The next area was the otter and seal area. We watched them play underwater and the moved up a ramp to see them above water. We were so close to these animals.
The person at the ticket booth said that the tour takes about an hour. Ours was a bit longer as we lingered around the displays that we enjoyed. When we returned to the hotel, my wife found a coupon in one of the pamplets that she had picked up at the airport earlier that day - buy one admit ticket, get one free. Even so, we both thought it was well worth the $9 price each.