Our family is slightly obsessed with jellyfish. There's something infinitely fascinating about these mysterious ocean creatures which come in a huge range of shapes and sizes.
We love the SeaLife London Aquarium which is right on the river near the iconic London Eye in the majestic County Hall building. One of the highlights of my entire life was when I got the opportunity to snorkel with the sharks there and it's always good for a family trip - especially if you avoid the peak time during the middle of the day when it gets very busy.
Recently we went along after hours to explore the new jellyfish zone which features interactive areas, fabulous tanks filled with illuminated jellyfish and lots of informative and interesting displays ensuring both adults and children are entertained and engaged during their visit.
From the moment you walk through the misty wall of jellyfish into the first zone you know you are in for a treat. I don't want to give too much away but the experience is three dimensional, surrounding you with jellyfishy loveliness.
My children particularly enjoyed the jellyfish computer game. Participants play on tablets, creating their own jellyfish, adjusting size, pattern and tentacle length along with water temperature, current and food levels to create a swarm to survive being eaten by sharks and turtles.
My youngest son is hoping they will create an app with the game on - all the children seemed very reluctant to leave the area!
We had fun with the colour wheel which allowed us to adjust the lights illuminating the jellyfish - it was interesting to see how different colours highlighted their detail in different ways.
We were challenged to "Feel the sting..." to experience what it might feel like to be stung by a jellyfish. Lots of nerves before bravely poking our hands into the hole. You'll have to try it yourself to see if it hurt much (although I think Grumpy's smile gives the game away a little.)
I loved seeing the teeny-weeny baby jellyfish - one of the aquarium's exports was carrying some round in a water-filled tube which she constantly tilted back and forth as she chatted. Jellyfish need a current to swim or bell otherwise they would just fall to the bottom of the tank/tube/seabed.
We felt the new attraction was a great addition to the Sealife London Aquarium and would appeal to visitors of any age.
There was something very calming about watching the jellyfish which glide about very serenely in their spacious tanks. My son says he loved them almost as much as the sharks- high praise indeed!
Disclaimer: We were invited to visit the new Jellyfish experience at SeaLife London Aquarium free for the purpose of this review.
We love the SeaLife London Aquarium which is right on the river near the iconic London Eye in the majestic County Hall building. One of the highlights of my entire life was when I got the opportunity to snorkel with the sharks there and it's always good for a family trip - especially if you avoid the peak time during the middle of the day when it gets very busy.
Recently we went along after hours to explore the new jellyfish zone which features interactive areas, fabulous tanks filled with illuminated jellyfish and lots of informative and interesting displays ensuring both adults and children are entertained and engaged during their visit.
My children particularly enjoyed the jellyfish computer game. Participants play on tablets, creating their own jellyfish, adjusting size, pattern and tentacle length along with water temperature, current and food levels to create a swarm to survive being eaten by sharks and turtles.
My youngest son is hoping they will create an app with the game on - all the children seemed very reluctant to leave the area!
We had fun with the colour wheel which allowed us to adjust the lights illuminating the jellyfish - it was interesting to see how different colours highlighted their detail in different ways.
We were challenged to "Feel the sting..." to experience what it might feel like to be stung by a jellyfish. Lots of nerves before bravely poking our hands into the hole. You'll have to try it yourself to see if it hurt much (although I think Grumpy's smile gives the game away a little.)
I loved seeing the teeny-weeny baby jellyfish - one of the aquarium's exports was carrying some round in a water-filled tube which she constantly tilted back and forth as she chatted. Jellyfish need a current to swim or bell otherwise they would just fall to the bottom of the tank/tube/seabed.
We felt the new attraction was a great addition to the Sealife London Aquarium and would appeal to visitors of any age.
There was something very calming about watching the jellyfish which glide about very serenely in their spacious tanks. My son says he loved them almost as much as the sharks- high praise indeed!
Disclaimer: We were invited to visit the new Jellyfish experience at SeaLife London Aquarium free for the purpose of this review.