
Hi, I’m Judd Alberts and my mom Ronnie Koenig is an editor and writer for New Jersey Family. Recently my mom and I had fun going to the Adventure Aquarium in Camden. It was very good and the employees working there were very nice too! We went to the aquarium because it was a good thing to do with kids and also it was Take Your Child to Work Day and it seemed like a good idea when my mom introduced it to me.
About the Turtle Experience
We arrived at the aquarium and it looked so much cooler than when we last went. We were accompanied by workers after we went to some other exhibits such as the sting ray/shark exhibit.
At the shark and stingray exhibit, they offered us and others a chance to pet these exotic animals. We accepted their offer and they told us, “Only use two fingers on the shark’s back.” After we pet the sharks and stingrays we went to their food court where they sold many foods such as pizza, mac and cheese, salads and more! They also served many drinks. They had many machines where you could self-serve your drink. We chose their pizza and a Cherry Coke. It was very good.
After lunch we checked the time. We were set to see the turtles at 1:15. So we went to the main hall and above us was a massive rotating fish chandelier. We went to the special membership line where they accompanied us. We all arrived. It was me out of six others–two of them were marine biologists. We all introduced ourselves. The main biologist was named Jesy. She led us through the aquarium and into the basement which was very cool. Inside the basement of the aquarium was an aquarium-like classroom. They had chairs waiting for us. When we sat down, they described all of the turtles and about them and what they like to do. Here is a small description of these turtles.
(Name) Stitches
(Age) 25+
(Sex) Male
(Favorite thing to do) Loves to blow bubbles with his nose and then eat them!
(Name) Old Green
(Age) 30+
(Sex) Female
(Favorite thing to do) Loves to swim with her pals!
(Name) Bob
(Age) 30+
(Sex) Female
(Favorite thing to do) Sleep!
As you can see this was some information about the turtles.
So after our brief lesson about the turtles we went up a small flight of stairs. And before they opened the door, they gave us a small safety talk. Finally, they opened the door which led us to an overhang and below was a dock. On the dock set up was a small area that had small trays and tongs that had an elastic bracelet part that you would wear. And inside of those trays were small chunks of their food. Their food looked mostly not disgusting! In the small trays, they had cut up carrots and red peppers. I was so amazed by this! They offered to put our belongings on a shelf. We said yes and we put our coats and other items down. Then they told us to go grab a life jacket. They had many sizes. I chose the size that fit me well. After they had our jackets checked they made a demonstration on how to climb down the ladder to get onto the dock. After everyone safely got on the dock people chose where to sit and that would be the spot where we would feed the turtles from.
When everyone sat down, they showed us how to use the tongs. We all watched and figured out how to do it. Also, they had brushes to scrub their backs with. We all started to feed them and I figured out that the turtles bite down hard! It was so much fun playing with them on the dock.
After a long time of feeding, brushing and photos we sadly had to leave because our time was up. But we had so much fun, and we all said thank you so much for showing us this and using their time for us. So after we left the basement we went to peek in the gift shop. And then we left!
I had so much fun going to the aquarium and it was a great experience. I would definitely recommend doing this with your family!
The Sea Turtle Encounter happens daily at 1:15 pm and can be reserved online and costs $89.99 per person plus tax. Must be 8 years old to participate and ages 8-17 must be accompanied by a participating parent or guardian. Admission to the aquarium must be purchased separately for this encounter. The package includes free parking for one car.Â