A Day at The Baltimore National Aquarium

    Last weekend, my friends and I went to the inner harbor to see the National Aquarium. This aquarium is one of Baltimore’s most famous attractions along with being one of the biggest aquariums in the United States. The design on the building makes it stand out and being placed right on the water also adds a cool touch. We walked up and bought our $50 tickets, but all gave each other a joking look that pretty much said, “let’s hope this is worth it.” Yes, I will say that while on the way, I was looking forward to seeing everything considering my interest and curiosity for animals since I was young. However, I did not realize how genuinely excited I’d actually be once I got in there. I felt like a little kid bouncing around to each exhibit, as if I were a kid going door to door on Halloween night. We walked around one area that had a lot of tropical fish, and I can’t lie, I couldn't stop looking at the seahorse. I honestly forgot they even existed, but it was awesome to see one in person. Above us, hung a whale skeleton and it made you feel how small we are in comparison to our oceans and other living creatures. The size of the megalodon jaws also add to that feeling. The Amazon Rainforest section had some really cool looking fish and giant turtles. Somehow we ended up in this really cool spot where we could look over and have a birds eye view of some of the nurse sharks, sting rays, and other little fish below.

    From here, we were walking aimlessly and ended up in the room where they do the dolphin shows. Unfortunately, they weren’t having them which was a bummer, but it was still cool to sit for a bit of time and watch them swim around and play with their balls. After being there for a little, we ended up at the Tropical Rainforest exhibit. It was extremely humid up here, but obviously that is to help make the animals feel like they’re at home. Here they have parrots, other birds, but the best part about it was the sloth. He must have been napping because we only saw a little bit of its brown fur tucked behind the leaves of the tree. Even though I barely saw it, it was still cool to know it was right there.

    My favorite section was easily shark alley, including sawfish sharks, sand tiger sharks, and more. It is really cool because you walk down this ramp that is surrounded by sharks. Before we got to the bottom, my friend was trying to get a perfect picture of one of the sharks, but every time he lined it up, the shark would move too quickly. He ended up jogging down the ramp, bobbing through people to try to get ahead, which had us all cracking up. Once we got to the bottom, the sharks would sometimes swim straight towards us and then make a hard turn, so it was awesome to get that small bit of interaction. Watching these beasts glide through the water and living amongst other smaller fish and other shark species makes you feel like you’re in another world. 

    Originally, this experience was for me to go spend a day looking at sea life. Luckily, I was able to leave with getting that sense of curiosity that adulthood buries relatively often due to all of the responsibilities we have to take care of as we grow older. If you’re in Baltimore, you need to visit the National Aquarium. It’s a perfect trip to go with your family, friends, and even alone. If you’re one of those people who cannot take the smell, trust me, it’s not that bad. It is very well-maintained, but you have to expect getting hit with a few scents here and there. After visiting, you’ll leave with a new appreciation for marine life and will get that priceless feeling of being a kid again.