Lions and tigers and bears, oh my. Oh, they used to excite my 2-year-old daughter, but not anymore. Now, it’s more like dolphins, stingrays, and sea lions, oh boy. Christmas is still four months away, but she is already prepping for our annual trip to Hawaii. The first item on our agenda: a trip to Sea Life Park Hawaii.
Sea Life Park is a world-class marine attraction located just 15 miles from Waikiki on Oahu’s scenic Makapuu Point. I visited the park as a child, but so much has changed since then. Back then the park catered to the average tourist. Since then the park has changed hands and is now owned by a company that has transformed it into an underwater paradise for families, specifically children.
Sea Life Park now features a variety of children’s programs including:
Preschool Pirates. This program caters to children ages 1 to 5 (each child must be accompanied by an adult). It includes a 90-minute guided session highlighted by a treasure hunt; a craft activity; games; a show; and visits with turtles, penguins, sea lions and other creatures.
Keiki (Hawaiian for child) Aquarist Program. This 3-hour session is geared towards children ages 6 to 12. It includes a visit to the park’s Sea Turtle Lagoon (a breeding ground for the endangered species). In addition, your children will also get a chance to take part in the Stingray Ballet show; play with sea urchins, starfish and other marine creatures in the Discovery Pool; and study the Rocky Shores exhibit which features Hawaii’s wave-swept tide pools.
Junior Trainer Program. This program caters to children ages 9 to 15. It is a daylong session that allows older kids to work behind the scenes at Sea Life Park. The program gives them the chance to learn about the park’s training philosophy; assist the staff with their chores; and participate in the popular Splash U interactive program where they’ll touch, feed and learn the signals trainers use to communicate with the dolphins. The program also includes lunch; meetings with park trainers; and a booklet containing information about dolphin training, and marine/maritime careers.
Program participants leave the park with a workbook that includes fun facts about stingrays and sea turtles, glossaries of words familiar to marine biologists and illustrations of fish anatomy. There is also space for drawings and journal entries designed to enhance your child’s hands-on activities.
If you are visiting Oahu and have children I would highly recommend making the drive to Sea Life Park. My brother recently took his nephew to the park and says it really does deliver on its promise to provide “safe and enriching experiences for children and their parents.” He said that park curators did a great job helping his nephew develop an appreciation for the ocean and its inhabitants. The sessions also teaches kids the importance of conservation and ways to care for the environment. I am looking forward to my return visit there. You can read about my daughter’s adventures there in a future blog.
In the meantime if you would like additional information on Sea Life Park click here.