A NEW Sea Life Centre has recently opened at Barton Square in the Trafford Centre and, after hearing good reviews, we decided to head over with the children to see for ourselves.
Arriving at around lunch time on Saturday there was a long queue but it moved quickly and we only waited about 10 minutes, even my impatient kids didn’t have time to get bored.
The tour began with a short yet informative talk about turtles, incorporating some great visual effects and lots of interactivity. We took our youngest two boys, aged seven and ten, they were both transfixed as the baby turtles ‘hatched’ before our eyes and scurried towards the ‘sea’.
The Centre is packed with amazing displays throughout as well as lots of tunnels and viewing hidey-holes, which the boys really enjoyed. There are interactive touch screens next to every tank providing facts about the various fish on display, for those that can stand still long enough to read them.
Finding a soft play area about half way round the boys were delighted and shot off, leaving me to catch my breath after the excited sprint around the tanks they had insisted on.
This would have been the perfect time to sit down and have a cup of tea, unfortunately there were no chairs and I had to stand around as they played, my only complaint of the day to be fair.
When they ran out of steam the boys reappeared and we went to look around the rest of the aquarium, my youngest insisting we head back to see the jellyfish again. They were in a huge tank with a dramatic changing light display and we spent quite a while watching them.
On the way out we passed the clown fish, where I explained to the boys that all clown fish are born male with the biggest and strongest turning female…..I found this interesting fact, along with others in the guide book I bought on the way in;)
We ended our time at Sea Life in the gift shop where the boys chose something each to remember our fun day out. There was plenty of choice and it was good to see some pocket money toys too.
I was really impressed with how child friendly the attraction was and we had a fantastic day. The boys were still talking about it long after we returned home.
I would recommend a trip to Sea Life, in fact we upgraded our tickets to annual passes on the way out and are planning our next visit already.
Tickets are £16.20 per adult whilst a family is charged at £14.10 per family member. Children under 3 enter for free. Annual passes are also available as well as combination tickets for Lego Land that offer discounts.
Small Girl in a Big World 