SEA LIFE Aquarium – Auburn Hills, MI
Where can you go to see sting rays, sea turtles, jellyfish, and sharks? At Great Lakes Crossing Mall, in Auburn Hills, Michigan!
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I know what you’re thinking, “Did she just say I can go to a mall to visit an aquarium?!” Yes. Yes, I did!
Welcome to SEA LIFE Aquarium!
Special thanks to SEA LIFE Aquarium who recently hosted our family during their Homeschool Week. After spending the whole morning there, you’ll understand why our children are begging to go back.
Check out our list of Over 30 Incredible Ocean Themed Books, Games and Resources
What’s inside?
Inside you will encounter over 5,000 sea creatures and 250 different species including sting rays, sea turtles, jellyfish, and sharks. Your journey starts in the freshwater lakes of Michigan, and ventures all the way to the ocean, all while meeting incredible creatures that live along the way!
There are over 20 exhibits. Some of our favorites include the Freshwater Exhibit, Harbor Exhibit, Interactive Touchpool, Shoaling Ring Exhibit, Seahorse Mangrove Exhibit, Doodle Reef, Stingray Bay, Shipwreck Exhibit, Tropical Ocean Exhibit, Jellies Exhibit, Coral Reef Exhibit, and Conservation Cove.
Freshwater Exhibit
Upon entering, the first exhibit you will encounter is the Freshwater Exhibit. Children can walk right up to the glass and be face-to-face with species of fish that can be found in freshwater lakes, rivers, and streams.
There is also a display with a tunnel under it with a pop-up inside the tank. It allows children, and children at heart, to crawl through and get a glimpse of what it looks like from inside the tank.
There are pop-ups like this throughout Sea Life. My children loved all of them! It’s not very often you can get that close to creatures that live in the ocean.
Harbor Exhibit
Immediately, when I entered the Harbor, I started singing, “Sittin’ on the dock of the bay. Watchin’ the tide, roll away” (sorry if that song is stuck in your head now). Have you ever stood on a dock and wondered what lives underneath it? If so, this is a great exhibit to show you some tropical creatures that live in harbors around the world.
It isn’t required that you sing that song while walking through, but it does add to your experience.
Interactive Touch Pool
This was a
For those of you who are maybe a little indecisive about whether you want to put your hands in there, there is a sink so you are able to wash them before you move on.
Shoaling Ring Exhibit
The Shoaling Ring lets you know what it would feel like if you were in the middle of a school of fish. You will stand in amazement as hundreds of fish swim circles around you.
Seahorse Mangrove Exhibit
A mangrove is a small tree that grows along coastlines around the world. They have an interesting root system that allow many ocean creatures to live inside them. Here you can also see seahorses as they grab on to plants and sea grass, to keep from floating away.
Doodle Reef
Doodle Reef was a great surprise! Here you get to design your own fish on interactive tablets. Then, after you are done designing them, they “swim” over to the big screens on the wall. There, you can interact with your exact design, give it a treat, race other fish, or just watch it swim around. Our children enjoyed seeing their designs on the big screens. It was appealing for all ages, even for the grandparents that were there.
Stingray Bay Exhibit
Kids need a break? This is the perfect spot to do so. Grab a seat, sit back, and watch the stingrays, and even some sharks, swim around. This is home to the southern stingrays and Atlantic stingrays.
There is a tunnel through the rocks in the background, that had two pop-ins so you could feel like you were right there with the stingrays. Keep an eye out for their green moray eel, Jeff. He’s 6 feet long, but he likes to hide!
Shipwreck Exhibit
If you’re brave, take a step aboard a sunken ship. Here you will find all the creatures that like to live in deep, dark parts of the ocean. Our favorite fish was the Lion Fish. It is so beautiful, and graceful, as it swims through the water.
Tropical Ocean Exhibit
Get your wetsuit on! We’re going in! The ocean tunnel was amazing! Imagine standing there while stingrays and sharks swim inches from your head. Incredible!
As you walk through, you will be joined by plenty of fish swimming right beside you. Keep your eyes
Jellies Exhibit
Who doesn’t love jellyfish?! They are quite incredible when you think about it. Here is a creature that has no nerves, no blood, no heart, and no brain, and their bodies consist 95% of water! You can’t help but stand there mesmerized as they float around, creating all different shapes.
Coral Reef Exhibit
The Coral Reef is filled with all different kinds of fish, in multiple shapes, sizes, and colors. It showcases all of your favorite fish, such as the clownfish and blue tang, and even some that you may have never seen before.
Conservation Cove
Conservation Cove is FULL of information about the huge impact that trash and plastic have on marine life. They give you plenty of ideas on what you can do to help protect the ocean, and everything that lives inside of it.
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Behind-The-Scenes Tour
Don’t miss this chance to go behind-the-scenes with an experienced guide to find out all about how Sea Life provides for all of the creatures in their care. It was about 20 minutes in length and is broken down into different stages.
It covers such things as how they filter the water, what each animal eats and when, and a stop at the lab where they make sure all of their systems are operating correctly to ensure all of the animals stay healthy.
Our guide took the time to answer any of the questions we had, which is great for inquiring minds.
Educational Talks and Feeding Demonstrations
Throughout the day, SEA LIFE offers different talks and feeding demonstrations such as:
- A morning story time which is perfect for little children.
- Breakfast with Benson and Carr, the green sea turtles.
- Stingray Tales – Discover the amazing world of stingrays.
- SEA LIFE Superheros – Learn about sharks and their amazing superpowers.
- Watch an Aquarist feed the rays during the Stingray Feeding Demonstration
- Touchpool Feed – Learn what tide pool creatures eat, and what they don’t.
- Turtle Talk where you learn about their habitats and what you can do to help protect them.
Homeschool Week
As you may, or may not know, we homeschool, and the week we visited just so happened to be Homeschool Week. During this dedicated week they offer discounted admission for homeschoolers and their families. Admission was only $10 per person, which saved us $13.50 per adult and $8.50 per child. That’s a great discount if you ask me!
Upon entering, the kids were handed a worksheet that went along with various workstations throughout the aquarium. The stations covered topics such as “What is a fish?” and “How do gills work?” They were great opportunities that allowed the kids to dive deeper into learning more about ocean creatures.
Each day they had a short activity for grades K-3, and a fish dissection workshop for grades 4-12. Younger children could participate in the fish dissection as long as they had help from an adult. And if you’re wondering, no, this isn’t a workshop where you were watching one of the employees dissect a fish. Each child got to dissect their own fish. Now that’s hands-on!
They also offer printable Teacher Notes and Student Exploration Sheets. These are great educational activities that you and your child can complete during your visit. They currently offer: Amazing Oceans: Pre-k to K, Behavior: 1st-5th Grades, Conservation: 1st-5th Grades, and Food Chains & Ecosystems: 1st-5th Grades.
Know Before You Go
Tickets
You are able to purchase tickets online, which guarantees your entry AND you get to skip the lines when you get there. Sounds like a win-win to me, especially with children in tow. They can either scan your tickets on your phone or you can print the tickets and bring them with you.
Aquarium Information
Here you can find all the information you need before your visit, such as Hours and How To Get There. There is also a list of local hotels that they partner with, if you’re looking to stick around for a couple days. Some of them offer packages that include both your hotel room and admission to SEA LIFE.
They currently have 12 locations, spread all over the world! PERHAPS you will find a SEA LIFE Aquarium near you!
Read about our other adventures in Michigan:
- Outdoor Discovery Center (FREE), Holland, MI
- Legoland Discovery Center, Auburn Hills, MI
- Tri-Cities Historical Museum (FREE), Grand Haven, MI
- Top 10 Things to Do in Muskegon, Michigan
- Quality Inn & Suites Hotel, Muskegon, MI
- Jubliee Cottage Visit, Grand Haven, MI
- Zehnder’s Splash Village Indoor Water Park & Hotel, Frankenmuth, MI
ENTER TO WIN!!
***CONTEST ENDED 02/28/19***
We enjoyed SEA LIFE Aquarium so much, and we know you would too! So our friends at SEA LIFE Aquarium in Auburn Hills, Michigan, have generously given us five complimentary tickets (total value $117.50) to giveaway to our readers, so we could share the fun with you.
It is easy to enter… follow the Rafflecopter prompts below and you’re done! A winner will be chosen at random on March 1, 2019 and notified via the email and/or Facebook account used to enter. Good luck!
SEA LIFE Family 5 Pack of Tickets Giveaway
If your family loves aquariums as much as ours, venture over to our other posts about Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies and Maui Ocean Center.
72 Comments
MELISSA
We love aquariums-and so rarely is a giveaway for five! 🙂 We would love the touch pool the most. 🙂
Charlene
Melissa, we agree, the touch pools are pretty awesome. We are very grateful to have five tickets to give away to share the fun. Good luck!
Amber Louchart
I have always been completely amazed by Sea Horses. Being that the male get pregnant and they are such delicate and unique creatures.
Charlene
Seahorse certainly are special Amber. We were able to watch them eat once at a behind-the-scenes tour at Maui Ocean Center. So peaceful and sweet. Good luck!
Jillian Rundell
I’ve been dying to visit this aquarium with my kids! We love stingrays the most!
Charlene
Good luck Jillian! My son LOVES stingrays too! They are pretty irresistible.
Samantha Thorpe
We loved the aquarium when we went a couple years ago. My kids loved the touch pool & I liked the turtles!
Charlene
Samantha, so glad you had a great time at SEA LIFE Aquarium with your family. Touch pools are a huge hit with our kids too and sea turtles are my personal favorite! Good luck!
Nancy Sloan
I think my favorite is the stingray they are so amazing.
Charlene
My son LOVES stingrays too Nancy. So graceful as they glide through the water. Good luck!
Kathleen
Hopeful to win (doing all 3 steps) but wanted to say what a fun give-away. I’m sure 5 lucky people will enjoy it.
Charlene
Thank you Kathleen…we were very grateful to receive the tickets to use as a giveaway. SEA LIFE Aquarium is SO much fun and their company is very friendly. Good luck to you!
Cassie Marie
This aquarium sounds amazing, I’m definitely adding to our travel list for next year and have entered your giveaway so fingers crossed 🙂
Charlene
Good luck Cassie Marie! Adding SEA LIFE Aquarium to your travel list is a great idea.
Jennifer Hallmark
My son loves aquariums and we’ve been debating on making the trip here. Your post gave us all the info we needed to show us it’s worth the 2 hour drive. Entering into the giveaway for sure. What an awesome gift for the lucky winner!
Charlene
Thank you Jennifer and good luck to you! Plenty to do and see at SEA LIFE Aquarium for sure. Your son will love it! SEA LIFE is located inside Great Lakes Crossing Mall and there is a Legoland Discovery Center nearby also. We will have a post out on the Legoland Discovery Center in a couple of days (we may just have a ticket giveaway up our sleeves for that too).
Sandy
My favorite has always been the fascinating Sea Horses. Not only are they so cool to look at but Seahorse males take care of pregnancy.
Oh how great that would be for humans. (LOL who am I kidding! the human Males could NEVER bear the pain) The female deposits her eggs into the male’s abdominal pouch. He fertilizes them and carries them until they’re ready to hatch. In some species, he might carry as many as 2,000 of them!
AND THEN when seahorse babies (called fry) are born they’re independently on their own. They swim away slowly but only fewer than 1 in 1,000 survive to adulthood.
MORE INFO: http://theconversation.com/the-secret-sex-life-and-pregnancy-of-a-seahorse-dad-46599
Charlene
You sure know a lot about seahorses Sandy! They are quite fascinating indeed. 2,000 eggs to carry is quite the responsibility. Good luck!
Melissa
The shipwreck portion looked really fun.
Charlene
Melissa, SEA LIFE did a great job setting the scene for the shipwreck portion. Good luck!
Jaime
This looks like such a fun place.
My favorite sea life are all the colorful fish.
Charlene
It was a great time Jaime…the colors of the fish are stunning as they swim. Good luck!
Kristen Kehrer
I like watching the stingrays. They have such a unique way of moving
Charlene
My son loves the stingrays too Kristen. They are quite elegant as they swim. Good luck!
Jessica
My boys will love the tunnel! Their favorite is the sting ray. Great giveaway!
Charlene
Thank you Jessica. The tunnel was a huge hit for our kids too, and the stingrays. Good luck!
Amanda Vanderklok
We would love to go to the aquarium!
Charlene
Good luck Amanda! We hope you get to go too!
Kathya Briggs
We would love to visit this place since we have never been there. Looks very interesting. ☺
Charlene
SEA LIFE had so many things to engage visitors. We hope you get to visit sometime. Good luck Kathya!
Erin Southward
My kids love the sea turtles. I would love to take them to Sea Life – it sounds awesome!
Charlene
Erin, SEA LIFE was a blast and we hope you get to visit sometime. Sea turtles are my personal favorite animal on earth! We were blessed to see baby sea turtles at Maui Ocean Center’s behind-the-scenes tour once. SO cute! Good luck!
Joann
I would love to be able to give this gift to my little girl!!!
Charlene
Good luck Joann! We hope you get to visit SEA LIFE Aquarium sometime with your little girl.
Jennifer
Sting rays are my kids favorite! Hope to see some.
Charlene
Good luck Jennifer and great choice kids!
Adrienne A
I love the sea horses.
Charlene
They are very cute Adrienne. SEA LIFE Aquarium has a “Santa Seahorse” picture on their Facebook page!
Angie Douglass
We love the jellyfish!
Charlene
We do too Angie! Both of our kids have loved all things ocean since as far back as we can remember.
Nicolle
Looks like a great place to take my boys over break
Charlene
Good luck Nicolle and we hope you get to visit SEA LIFE Aquarium over break!
Hollie Jahnke
I love turtles. They are so interesting to watch!
Charlene
Hollie, sea turtles are my personal favorite too! They are so peaceful and sweet. We were very blessed to have seen baby Green Sea Turtles once at Maui Ocean Center. Trust me it was just as cute as it sounds! Yay turtles! Good luck!
Rachel Gokey
This is on our bucket list! LOVE animals and learning everything about them! Thank you so much for the detailed posts. I am a planner and appreciate a real life experience giving advice and photos! Giveaways are exciting! Thank you!
Charlene
Thank you Rachel… I agree, Trisha did a great job writing this post. We are definitely both planners like you. Both of our families LOVE animals too, especially marine life! Good luck!
Rachel
What a fun and educational place to visit. 🙂
Charlene
Rachel, SEA LIFE did a wonderful job pairing fun and learning. Good luck and we hope you get to visit them sometime!
YVONNE WOODSTOCK
One of our many favorites are the Sting Rays! We love how their faces are on the bottom of them and it looks like they are smiling all of the time. I even had the blessing of having been able to feed fish to them (at Discovery Cove, not here.) and it felt like a toothless baby gumming at the palm of my hand to grab the fish, which made them even MORE ADORABLE. I was also amazed that they would swim right up to us and loved to be pet! Of course, being able to pet and KISS a dolphin was a bucket list dream come true and their intelligence and ability to communicate and answer questions in their own way, just blew us away!
Our grandson and none of our adult kids have had the chance to go to the Sea Life Aquarium in Auburn Hills yet and we’ve been wishing they could!
My husband and I crazy LOVEEEE ALL animals so we get more excited about them more than most children. haha.
I would be especially excited to bring our grandson! He crazy loves all animals too, like Gramma & PopPop and I think he would especially love the touch pool and any of the larger animals that come up to the glass like the StingRays do, for example.
Thank you for this opportunity!
It’s exciting to even have a chance!
Charlene
Yvonne, you are in good company because both of our families are crazy about animals too! We haven’t swam with dolphins yet…that must have been SO neat! Definitely something we would love to do! The stingrays are just as you describe them…sweet, adorable, smiling, gliding bundles of cuteness…who are always smiling! They feel very soft indeed! We are very thankful to SEA LIFE Aquarium in Auburn Hills, MI for providing us with tickets to giveaway and the opportunity to share the fun with others! Good luck and we hope you get to visit them soon! Thank you for entering.
Sarah
We love sea turtles!
Charlene
We LOVE sea turtles too Sarah! Good luck!
MarciaF
The Starfish is such an interesting sea creature. It doesn’t look like it’s alive and yet there’s so much to it.
Charlene
Starfish are quite unique and when I first touched one it wasn’t at all what I expected. Good luck Marcia!
Christine Blair
My son liked the feeding and touch pools the most
Charlene
Touch pools are most definitely a favorite among our kids too. Good luck Christine!
Sarah Bradley
My family loves watching the sharks swimming over head! There is a bench near there that we will sit on and just watch the sharks swim by us!
This is a wonderful contest! Good Luck, everyone!
Charlene
Thank you Sarah. We are very grateful to SEA LIFE Aquarium in Auburn Hills, MI for providing us with the tickets to giveaway. Shark watching is great! We just adore all marine life, and it is very hard to pick a favorite creature! Good luck!
Krystal
I never knew this was even there 😵 my four children and myself would love this !
Charlene
We are HUGE fans of ocean life. SEA LIFE Aquarium was amazing! Good luck Krystal!
Violet K.
Starfish are my favorite sea creatures.
Charlene
Starfish are pretty awesome, Violet. Good luck!
keri szawara
Love the Sea Cucumbers. These creatures are absolutely fascinating.
Charlene
Sea cucumbers feel very slippery and slimy…so interesting. Good luck, Keri, on our giveaway!
Erica
We homeschool too! My boys love Legoland, but we have yet to go through the aquarium. We’d love to check it out!
Charlene
The aquarium was TONS of fun! We hope you get to visit soon. Good luck on the contest!
Holly
Aquariums are so fun. This one looks like a great adventure —and mom gets to shop at the mall too?!? Haha. The touch pool and jelly exhibit would probably be our favorite.
My favorite sea animal is the dolphin! You need to add swimming with the dolphins to your travel to do list— it’s so amazing.
Charlene
We agree, Holly. Both of our families LOVE aquariums. The touch pools are wonderful! I bet swimming with dolphins was an incredible experience for you!! Where did you swim with them?! I’ve never swam with dolphins but it is for sure on my dream list. I’d most likely be crying tears of joy as the theme song to Flipper played in my mind.
Jen Ross
This is on our to-do list! Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Jellyfish are my fave creatures to watch at the aquarium! Dolphins are the kids favorite!
Trisha
We agree about the jellyfish! I could watch all day as they change shape and floats around effortlessly. There’s something mesmerizing about them!
Kayla
Thank you for such a great blog on the Aquarium from not just a parent’s perspective but sharing your children’s thoughts as well. Great post.
Charlene
Thank you Kayla. We try to remind ourselves to look at things often from the kiddos point of view wherever we travel.