Aquarium of the Pacific

During my vacation to California for gymnastics, we did many things. One of which was visiting the Aquarium of the Pacific, which is located in Long Beach. This Aquarium is home to more than 12,500 ocean animals, and it represents nearly 500 species. Since there was so much to see and do down there, the main gallery we focused on was the Southern California/Baja Gallery.
The Southern California/Baja Gallery represents the diverse marine environments which are mainly found within the California and Baja California waters. Part of this gallery features a large bed of giant swaying Kelp, some colorful garibaldi (which is actually California’s state fish), giant spined sea stars, California Scorpionfish, and many other examples of local Southern California Ocean life. Examining this was really cool because of the diversity, and numbers of all the ocean creatures. There was a ton of fish! Also in this gallery is where we found the Seal and Sea Lion Habitat. This was one of my favorite parts of our adventure through the aquarium. The Seals and sea lions were really interesting to watch move around and swim. It was really cool to see how they could adapt from water to land and from land to water. We also got to visit the touch pool area in this gallery. They had many things available for us to feel, but the most common was the sting ray. They had sting rays ranging from very small to GIGANTIC. They were literally huge. Feeling them was really cool because of the texture of their smooth, almost slimy feeling skin. It grossed me out, I have to admit, but it was worth it to be able to examine them up close.
All in all, this trip was really fun and I definitely learned a lot about ocean life. I learned how many different kinds of fish there are, and that there’s still a ton more out there for us to discover. I learned that there are so many different types of one creature or fish, and that none of them are alike. Each type has their own characteristics that make them unique and interesting to learn about.