Visiting the Greater Cleveland Aquarium has been on our bucket list for awhile.  We finally made the trip last weekend and realized we should have went a long time ago!  It was such a fun and educational experience and we all had a great time.

Read about our experience below and see the pictures of some of the amazing sights at the aquarium.

And that’s not all, one lucky Find Time for Fun reader will win a 4 pack of tickets to the Greater Cleveland Aquarium. 

About the Greater Cleveland Aquarium

The aquarium is located in the FirstEnergy Powerhouse in the Nautica Entertainment Complex.  I especially loved that the owners elected to keep the charm of the building by incorporating the exposed brick walls, smokestacks, steel girders and arched brick tunnels into the aquarium decor.

The Greater Cleveland Aquarium
2000 Sycamore Street Cleveland, Ohio 44113 (directions)
855-602-3040

The Fish and Marine Life at the Aquarium

There are 35 tanks of various shapes and sizes located throughout the aquarium and quite the selection of fish and marine life.

And because a picture is worth 1,000 words, here are some shots of our favorite exhibits.

These turtles were sitting so still on their log.  We watched them for quite a while and they never moved.  There were also a number swimming in the pool below.

The stingrays, neon tetras (I used to have those in my fish tank as a child), and the piranhas in the exotic freshwater exhibit.

The beautiful floating fins of the Lion Fish.

The creepy looking moray eels that were intertwined amongst the cracks and holes in the coral.

The enormous 11,000 gallon touch tank where we were able to touch a horseshoe crab, a sea urchin, starfish and a variety of stingrays.

We also found out first hand that the stingrays are known to splash on occasion.  My husband and daughter came away from the experience a little wet, and I got a good laugh at it all!

The cute little clownfish (a.k.a. Nemo).  If you look closely at the picture above you’ll notice a small red cluster about the size of a nickel on the rock in the background.  One of the clownfish appeared to be fanning it.  Which led us to wonder if they were eggs.

And of course, the shark tank was also a big hit.  The tank is huge and includes an underwater walk-through tunnel.  As you walk through the tunnel, the sharks and other fish swim all around you.

While we were at the Shark Tank, there were divers in the tank cleaning the coral.  Check out the shark in the picture above.  It is literally swimming merely inches away  from the divers, and they didn’t even flinch.  Yikes!  Had we stayed a little longer we could have even watched them feed the sharks.

Of course, these are just a handful of the fish you will see at the aquarium.  If you haven’t visited yet, I highly suggest planning a trip soon.

New Exhibits Opening in February 2013

The aquarium recently celebrated it’s one year anniversary and made an announcement about two new exhibits opening on February 16th.

African Tortoises – This exhibit will include 10 African Tortoises that visitors can interact with and touch.  During out visit, we saw them putting the final touches on the new area and it looked very intriguing.

“Sea Monsters: Truth or Tale” – This interactive display will be located in the new Exploration Station located on the second floor.  The exhibit will offer visitors a view into some of the fascinating “monster” characteristics of some sea animals through hands-on educational panels.

Enter to Win 4 Tickets to The Greater Cleveland Aquarium

This Giveaway has ended.
Congratulations to the winner Jeni (Entry 21 of 397)
Thanks to all who entered

One lucky Find Time for Fun reader will win a 4 pack of tickets to the Greater Cleveland Aquarium.

To Enter (required): Simply fill out your name and email address in the form below.  Remember to leave a valid email address.

Bonus Entries:  Mark the various options in the form below for completing any of the following.  Please note, that doing these things is NOT required to enter the giveaway.  Doing them will however, give you additional entries into the giveaway and therefore increase your odds of winning.

• Sign up to receive free once daily email updates from Find Time For Fun.  Already do?  It counts!
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Please email me me with any questions.

Thank you for entering and Good Luck!

Giveaway Ends: Friday, February 22nd at midnight EST.

Other: Entrants must be 18 or older and located in the US only. The winners will be selected using random.org and notified via email. Email addresses are only used in order to contact the winner. Be sure to leave a VALID email address. Winner must respond within 48 hours to claim their prize, or another winner will be chosen. Duplicate entries will be deleted. Up to four entries per person, including the three Bonus Entries. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

Disclosure: Many thanks to the Greater Cleveland Aquarium for providing the tickets for review and giveaway.