Birch Aquarium at Scripps: Beautiful View, Great Touch Pool, Average Aquarium
Written: Dec 31 '04 (Updated Jan 03 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful setting and views, touch pools
Cons: Very small, limited inside viewings
The Bottom Line: A nice, local aquarium in a beautiful ocean-front setting.
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| modernmarvel's Full Review: Birch Aquarium at Scripps |
We visited the Birch Aquarium at Scripps during Christmas vacation week 2004. The approach to the aquarium really raised my expectations for what I would see inside. First of all, there was a beautiful setting on a cliff overlooking the ocean. A small submarine marked the entrance to the parking lot. A beautiful trio of whales immortalized in bronze in fountains graced the entrance. Unfortunately, the approach raised my expectations too high for what we would experience once we entered the main building.
The aquarium is housed in one main building with two wings. The main lobby is an open space with large glass windows framing a view of the ocean. To the right is a traditional aquarium. Inside are lots of smallish tanks with a variety of fish. The tanks are set up quite nicely with a mix of plants, fish and props. The background in each tank nicely coordinates with the animals inside making me wonder if the fish tank designer had more than a passing interest in window dressing.
There is some attempt at education with many tanks displaying local aquatic life. There are also lots of jelly fish and tropical fish. However, the small signs explaining the displays are generally either over the tanks where many smaller viewers can't read them or the text and small type won't appeal to anyone younger than high school age.
There is one larger tank in the middle of the wing filled with kelp and local fish. Apparently, divers enter the tank and put on some type of show but we didn't have a chance to see it.
We visited during a school vacation and the tank area was quite crowded. Sometimes we had to wait several minutes to see a popular tank.
The other wing of the aquarium was less interesting. Most of it was taken up by a seahorse display with far too many tanks displaying a variety of seahorses. Apparently, they received a large donation to set up this display which seemed to accommodate the benefactor more than the patrons. The rest of the wing was a half-hearted attempt to provide some interactive displays. There were some building blocks, large slinkys and a few other things. However, there was little in the way of explanation or education accompanying these parts and they were not particularly interesting.
Outside the second wing is one of those motion machines that you see in many malls. For $3 you could sit inside the capsule and watch a movie while the capsule simulated motion. It wasn't impressive for my kids who have been on far more sophisticated ones in the local theme parks.
Outside the main lobby is a large three-part touch pool containing local sea life including lobsters and some fish. Employees guide children and explain the animals. The kids loved these pools and we spent half an hour outside. Best of all the touch pools are on a balcony overlooking the ocean. While the kids played with the sea life, I enjoyed watching the surfers and the waves. The downside to this area is that it is unprotected. In bad weather, although rare in southern california, you might not want to hang out outside.
Overall, we enjoyed the aquarium. Our eight year old liked the exhibits and our five year old enjoyed them too. There is a step up in front of many of the tanks so shorter children can get up higher to see the tanks. It was crowded during our visit but I suspect this is due to the vacation week. We would have enjoyed it a bit more in less of a crowd.
OTHER INFORMATION
There is an outdoor restaurant on site but it was closed during our visit.
The whole aquarium looks to be handicapped and stroller accessible.
There was ample, free parking nearby.
We spent 1 hour in the two wings of the aquarium and half an hour at the touch pools. On a day that isn't crowded, you could spend 1-2 hours here at most.
Hours (from the web site) 9:00 am to 5:00 pm daily.
Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Days.
Address: 2300 Expedition Way, La Jolla, CA 92037
FINAL RECOMMENDATION
Overall, we thought this was a cute, local aquarium. I wouldn't go out of my way to see it but it was nice for a 1-2 hour diversion.
MY REVIEWS OF OTHER THINGS TO SEE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Disneyland
Disney's California Adventure
Legoland
SeaWorld San Diego
The San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Wild Animal Park
Balboa Park
The Museum of Making Music
Recommended:
Yes
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modernmarvel
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