Not bad for a college-run aquarium
Written: Apr 01 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Reasonably cheap; great view; reasonably good exhibits
Cons: Staff is mostly non-existent; rather small; many exhibits have the same fish
The Bottom Line: Worth the trip but not more than a few times a year.
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| crystalattice's Full Review: Birch Aquarium at Scripps |
The Birch Aquarium in La Jolla is literally down the road from UC San Diego, which is good since it is part of the university. Unlike other aquariums, Birch is operated by the school with many of the staff being students, instructors, or other staff from the school.
Because it is a school-run aquarium, don't expect the "dazzlement" of the Monterey Aquarium or other, larger places. It's really more of a research center for college students striving for degrees in marine studies. The mission statement is "To provide ocean science education, to interpret Scripps research and to promote ocean conservation", so much of the aquarium is oriented towards education rather entertainment.
Compared to other aquariums I have visited, it's on the smaller side (approx. 60 tanks total). It does have a huge kelp forest tank with local fish, a reasonably large shark tank, a tide pool "touch-it" tank, and the usual assortment of smaller viewing tanks.
The main exhibit tanks lead the visitor on a journey through the various types of marine areas, e.g. various spots down the American Pacific coast, Australasia, Indian Ocean, etc. A good cross-section of fauna from around the world is on display, though it seems that many of the tanks have a lot of the same fish; they aren't necessarily separated by geographic location but rather latitude.
The aquarium does have some great displays though, such as the Australasian sea dragons, lumpsuckers (which look like small ping-pong balls), and upside-down jellyfish. Overall though, there isn't quite the diversity of fish I expected to see, based on visits to other aquariums; for example, even though sun fish are found off the coast of California, there is no mention of them at all.
Most of the displays have the standard placards with pictures and names of the fish in the tank. The biggest problem I have is that very few placards give any description or explanatory information about the animals. Even as an adult, I'm curious about the habits of various critters in the world; I can't imagine what children would like to know about the marine animals in the tanks.
On the opposite side of the aquarium from the fish tanks is the "education center" proper. This is an area that seems designed more towards small children and grade school groups than teenagers and adults. Currently, the exhibits discuss global warming and its impact on the world's oceans. I haven't looked too closely at the exhibits (too many children every time I've visited), though they appear to be average in regards to educating children: lots of short sentences, some graphics, etc. but nothing that encourages real critical thinking (though I guess that's something parents and teachers can work on after visiting).
In addition to the global warming displays, there is currently also a section discussing natural camouflage. This is a mixture of hands-on children's activities and fish tanks with "hidden" creatures inside. The fish tanks are very good at demonstrating how camouflage works, such as how aptly named the rockfish is. There is also an exhibit that shows that brightly colored fish don't actually stand out underwater because only blue light penetrates deeply, so nearly all fish are colorless below a certain depth.
There are several classrooms and open areas for school children and other groups to use. They have never been in use during the times I have visited so I can't say what they are used for exactly. It's entirely possible that they are used more for the college than for the public.
The staff is mostly students from the school and, for the most part, can't be found. There is no one inside the aquarium near the exhibits to answer questions and only one or two outside at the tide pool exhibit; they usually have their hands full telling children to stop climbing on the rocks and abusing the animals to spend a lot of time educating people.
The area where the aquarium is located is very pretty. The aquarium itself sits on a hill overlooking the La Jolla beach. There are many plants and trees surrounding the area and there are some hiking trails near the university. Even if you get tired of looking at fish, wandering around outside can be very relaxing.
On a final note, the aquarium offers other features for members, such as taking part in the grunion spawning research, tide pool "walkabouts", and viewing research operations on the aquarium's very own pier.
However, even as a member I didn't receive notice of these events until it was too late to sign up. The aquarium isn't very proactive about notifying members of upcoming events; for the most part, it is up to members to visit the web site and see what is upcoming on the event calendar. I haven't found any way to receive automatic emails, RSS feeds, or other notifications.
Overall, the aquarium isn't too bad but not expect it to be an experience like visiting Monterey or Sea World. It's geared more for college research than entertaining guests, but it tries hard to keep the public interested. Parking is free, tickets are less than $12 a person, and the cafe isn't a major rip-off (the food is supplied by the university food services). All in all, it's not a bad way to spend a few hours, as long as you can avoid the gangs of small children.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
crystalattice
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Member: Cody
Location: San Diego, CA
Reviews written: 59
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
Navy 11 years, Computer tech 14 years, Degrees: AS, BS, MS
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