Kiddos get a chance to touch stingrays and small sharks in the Stingray Cove, plus sea stars and sea urchins in the Marine Discovery Center. (Psst...they can also try their hand at dissecting a squid). There are weird and wonderful fish in the South Pacific and North Pacific aquariums— from five species of sharks to jellyfish and ratfish. But what if you want to swim with the fishes? Visitors ages 8 and over can get up close and personal with some really big fish on the Eye-to-Eye Shark Dive cage-diving experience and older divers can even go Beyond the Cage. Once you've had your fish fix, explore the zoo to discover many critters of the furry and feathered variety.
Bonus: The brand-new Pacific Seas Aquarium is now open and its where you can experience Baja Bay, a 280,000-gallon show-stopper exhibit, along with the new Tidal Touch Zone and a host of ocean-animal habitats in which you and your fish loving kids can view sea creatures native to areas from the cold waters of Puget Sound and the North Pacific Ocean to the subtropical climes of the waters between Baja California and mainland Mexico.
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
5400 N. Pearl St.
Tacoma, Wa.98407
253-591-5337
Online: pdza.org/
Cost: $17.95/Adults; $13.95/Youth (5-12); $9.95/Tots (3-4); $16.95/Seniors (65 & older), 2 & under Free. Pierce County residents and military receive a $2 discount. Discounted prices online
photo: Helen Walker Green
