Maui Aquarium

While in Maui we spent a half-day visiting the Maui Ocean Center http://www.mauioceancenter.com/ . We had not visited the aquarium since soon after it opened in 1998. I am not sure if they have added more or I had just forgotten how great it was. We could have spent more time looking at all the exhibits and it was great to see so many of the fish we see snorkeling as well as many other we would not see in the ocean. Since we had scheduled a boat trip to snorkel that afternoon we had to cut the visit short.

One of the things we got were the handheld sticks that have recorded information about many of the exhibits. With the granddaughters this was great. While they may not take the time to read or look at many of the exhibits, they found it a great game to look for the numbers to enter and then listen to what was said about the display. Why is it they will pay attention to a recorded message and not written information or something you are trying to tell them?

I am not sure what I enjoyed the most. It was interesting to see the diver in the tank bringing two heads of romaine lettuce to put in the coral for the fish to eat. We spent most of the time in the area with all the tanks of the fish that you can find in the waters around Hawaii. They had small seahorses and large rays and sharks as well as all the beautiful fish you can find in the coral reefs. It was a great opportunity to get up close and personal with so many of the fish. We even had a chance to listen to a couple of naturalists at different locations telling us about the exhibit and answering questions.

I would have to say that a visit to the Maui Ocean Center is well worth the time and money, if you are on the island.