I traveled to Baltimore, Maryland this week and decided to check out something fun while I had the time! Baltimore has one of the highest rated Aquariums in the U.S., and since ocean life is one of my favorite things, I had to check it out!
It is located at the Harbor in downtown Baltimore and sits right on the water. The harbor leads into the ocean and really sets the scene for a beautiful aquarium.
One thing I will say about this aquarium is that it has a bit of an odd design and you really have to be aware of where you are in relation to the other exhibits to make sure you don’t miss anything. It is layered on different floors so you will experience going up a lot of escalators throughout. I started off with entering The Reef exhibit and it was breathtaking.
It has this modern look and every time you look down you just see ocean with a variety of fish, rays, and sharks. It was absolutely beautiful and peaceful and I could have stayed in here all day had it not been so crowded.
To see more exhibits you take an escalator up to the next level which provides you with an even better view of The Reef exhibit. How cool?! On the next level there are a variety of fish in individual exhibits and there were too many to take pictures of all of them.
In this area you can also touch stingrays and horseshoe crabs. But the most surprising element was that you could touch jellyfish! I asked the staff member about the safety of this and she explained that the type of jellyfish in this tank are not strong enough to sting human skin. They do ask you to touch the top of the jellyfish as to not harm their tentacles.
There are a series of additional fish exhibits on this level before you are met with another escalator that brings you into a tropical rainforest paradise. Check out this video!
Here you are able to walk through a rainforest environment and it felt realistic! By that I mean in was incredibly humid and who knows what my hair looked like after finishing that exhibit.
There were not many animals or fish to see in this exhibit, but there were birds flying around freely and a sloth. Who doesn’t love sloths?
After the rainforest, you guessed it, more fish! To quote a kid I overhead at the aquarium, “After awhile all the fish start to look the same!”. I sort of have to agree with him. But there were some other pretty cool, unique exhibits to see.
As you wrap up this wing of the aquarium you begin to work your way back down to the lower level by winding down several levels of ramps. These ramps take you deeper and deeper into an ocean environment with sharks swimming back and forth. It was honestly a little eerie, but totally awesome at the same time! How creepy does this guy look?
The next area you can check out is Pier 4 and this is where you will see the dolphins. The National Aquarium recently moved their dolphin exhibit Oceanside! They are no longer having scheduled dolphin shows, but if you time it right you may get to see them working with their trainers. Take a seat in the stadium and enjoy an impromptu show! I was lucky enough to time it perfectly, got a front seat, and had some great views of the dolphins playing and performing tricks!
Such beautiful creatures!
Right after the dolphins, they have a new Jellyfish exhibit with several different types. You can’t touch these, but there are plenty to see! This area did have a very foul smell to it and I’m not sure if it was the jellyfish or something else. Just something to note.
The last short exhibit is themed after the Australian Outback. This was similar to the Rainforest, but not as impressive. Although, it did look down on a beautiful indoor waterfall.
Overall, this was a beautiful aquarium with some award-winning exhibits, and the pictures don’t do it justice. However, I wouldn’t rank this at the top of the aquariums I have been to. I’m personally attached to the Dallas World Aquarium, but I may be biased. The National Aquarium is definitely one to check out when visiting Baltimore!
That’s all for today and come back tomorrow to see this last month’s compilation of travel tips all in one place! Until next time, friends!
Traveling by Nature 