If you think the SEA LIFE London Aquarium is all about fish, think again. Last night I took my daughter on an exciting sensory adventure through creepers and thunderstorms discovering bugs and a range of swimming creatures in the new Rainforest Adventure zone.
From floor to ceiling the Rainforest Adventure area creates a fabulous rainforest atmosphere with foliage, lighting, sound and flooring all adding to the experience.
But the stars of the show are of course the creatures, many of which are old favourites from the aquarium's collection now presented in a more imaginative way which really gives the context of their natural environment.
Now I am sure some of you think all creatures should stay in their natural environment but apart from education and entertainment, SEA LIFE London Aquarium does an enormous amount of conservation work preserving species which might otherwise be lost forever.
The other thing they do is occasionally re-home creatures rescued from terrible situations. For instance last night we met a gorgeous huge snapping turtle who had been dumped in a lake in a London park. He was spotted by a dog walker who though he was a crocodile!
One of the highlights of our visit to the rainforest adventure was feeding time for the baby piranhas. I've heard the term "feeding frenzy" but until you've witnessed one it's hard to envisage just how quickly a shoal of hungry fish can strip their dinner to the bone.
I teased my daughter about throwing her in the tank (not actually possible obviously!) to see how long it would take them to eat her but actually even if it was possible for her to get into the tank they would almost certainly ignore her - in their natural habitat they mostly eat things that have died in the water or have died and fallen in.
My daughter loved the #bravethebugs zone where she got up close and personal with a Goliath Bird Eating spider who will soon be the size of a dinner plate, some busy ants and some large (and creepy) hissing cockroaches.
There are some fun family-friendly activities too - do you dare to put your finger in the piranhas mouth? Or put your hand in the explorer's bag to check for creepy crawlies or rats? Can you balance over the infested river or create enough electricity to spark a tropical storm?
The rainforest adventure is being supported by extreme explorer, adventurer and all round action man Ranger Andy Torbet who (via a pre-recorded video) invites visitors to see if they can brave the storm and unearth what lies beneath the surface of the Amazonian rainforest - do they have what it takes to brave the bugs?
We found the area really added something special to the attraction which is already a great place for adults and children to learn while having fun. My daughter really enjoyed the activities as well as admiring the live displays and we spent well over an hour exploring just that area.
We are regular visitors to the SEA LIFE London Aquarium and up until now considered the recently revitalised Ocean Invaders jellyfish area to be among the highlights of the attraction (along with the sharks obvs!) The Rainforest Adventure may now be our new favourite area and I can't wait to take to take the other children along to see it too.
But the stars of the show are of course the creatures, many of which are old favourites from the aquarium's collection now presented in a more imaginative way which really gives the context of their natural environment.
Now I am sure some of you think all creatures should stay in their natural environment but apart from education and entertainment, SEA LIFE London Aquarium does an enormous amount of conservation work preserving species which might otherwise be lost forever.
The other thing they do is occasionally re-home creatures rescued from terrible situations. For instance last night we met a gorgeous huge snapping turtle who had been dumped in a lake in a London park. He was spotted by a dog walker who though he was a crocodile!
One of the highlights of our visit to the rainforest adventure was feeding time for the baby piranhas. I've heard the term "feeding frenzy" but until you've witnessed one it's hard to envisage just how quickly a shoal of hungry fish can strip their dinner to the bone.
My daughter loved the #bravethebugs zone where she got up close and personal with a Goliath Bird Eating spider who will soon be the size of a dinner plate, some busy ants and some large (and creepy) hissing cockroaches.
There are some fun family-friendly activities too - do you dare to put your finger in the piranhas mouth? Or put your hand in the explorer's bag to check for creepy crawlies or rats? Can you balance over the infested river or create enough electricity to spark a tropical storm?
The rainforest adventure is being supported by extreme explorer, adventurer and all round action man Ranger Andy Torbet who (via a pre-recorded video) invites visitors to see if they can brave the storm and unearth what lies beneath the surface of the Amazonian rainforest - do they have what it takes to brave the bugs?
We found the area really added something special to the attraction which is already a great place for adults and children to learn while having fun. My daughter really enjoyed the activities as well as admiring the live displays and we spent well over an hour exploring just that area.
We are regular visitors to the SEA LIFE London Aquarium and up until now considered the recently revitalised Ocean Invaders jellyfish area to be among the highlights of the attraction (along with the sharks obvs!) The Rainforest Adventure may now be our new favourite area and I can't wait to take to take the other children along to see it too.
