The only aquarium in the five boroughs, the New York Aquarium located in Coney Island, Brooklyn is a venue that can be enjoyed by all ages.  Sponsored by the Wildlife Conservation Society and advertising the motto, “Connecting People to Wild Nature,” the New York Aquarium offers a variety of attractions including sharks, walruses, sea lions, jellyfish, holiday 3-D movies, and much more. This was my first time visiting the Aquarium at the ripe age of eighteen.  I will be quite honest with you, from what I had seen of aquariums on television, I believed that an Aquarium was a hallway engulfed by glass filled with water and sea creatures.  I guess I watched too many cartoons when I was younger.  When I told this to my friend as we were approaching the aquarium he quickly jeered at me, You know its just like giant fish tanks right?

Despite the fact that the New York Aquarium did not fulfill my mystical expectations, it still proved to be an extremely enjoyable experience.  I found many of the exhibits that the Aquarium offered extremely informative.  One of them in particular is the “Sting-O-Meter” which is located in the building, Alien Stingers.  The “Sting-O-Meter,” examines ten different stings from jellyfish and speaks about the ways in which to treat different types of stings from various jellyfish.

The Aquarium also offers different events on different days.  For example, they make certain feedings available for the public to watch.  When I went, I watched the two walruses in the Aquarium get fed.  These walruses are huge, weighing approximately two thousand pounds.  Many kids were visiting the Aquarium with their parents.  I found this to be very enjoyable because the kids and their parents were narrating the same scenes I was watching.  It was extremely interesting to listen to the different reactions of diverse parents and children.  For instance, some parents referred to the walrus as “the old man,” while other children commented that the “big boy is hungry.”

One thing you cannot forget when visiting the aquarium is the shark exhibit.  I can’t remember the last time I was so close to a living shark.  While observing its teeth, I thought to myself that this shark would be able to kill me with one chomp of his jaws.  I was surprised how close the shark came to the glass when it observed people there.

And how could one leave the Aquarium without visiting the gift shop.  Having a wide variety of souvenirs including stuffed animals, sweatshirts, and pens, I couldn’t resist from purchasing a cute red pen to help support the Aquarium.  After all, my experience at the Aquarium helped me to become more aware of the unique aspects of the wildlife living around me.