One of the top things I was looking forward to doing in Seward, AK was visiting the Alaska SeaLife Center. I hadn’t realized that it was solely focused on marine life in and around Alaska, so I got a real treat seeing marine animals that I’d never seen before, not having been to an aquarium that includes wildlife from so far north.
The Alaska SeaLife Center had a lot of great information, some interactive exhibits that were really cool and of course amazing animals. Here’s a bit about my experience and why I’d say it’s a “can’t miss” experience while you’re in Alaska.
Initial Exhibits
When you arrive you’re greeted with information about the Bering Sea and the fishing industry in Alaska. It has a fun interactive boat for kids (or kids at heart) to go on and explore. I thought the Bering Sea size information was very interesting. You have a piece of plastic that’s the relative size of the Bering Sea and you can hold it up to various spots on the map to see how it compares to where you live. A cool website to help you see the size of countries and states compared to other places is The True Size Of which I use with my Geography students. This map experience reminded me of that website.
Touch Tanks
I have to admit, in addition to the Alaska SeaLife Center being incredibly interesting, they had the BEST touch tanks I’ve ever been able to participate in. Not just rays or a star fish or two, but all kinds of urchins, anemones, sea slugs, star fish, crabs and much more. I couldn’t get enough of it. The only thing to remember is that they pump the ocean water in from outside and it is COLD. So give your hands a break as you go along.
The I.Sea.U
This is the area where orphaned or injured marine wildlife in need of care or rehabilitation come. Right now the Alaska SeaLife Center is helping a baby walrus who came to them in critical condition. So far, things are looking positive but raising walrus calves is a very tricky business. When I visited the I.Sea.U was empty, which is great news!
Birds of the Alaska SeaLife Center
The Alaska SeaLife Center has seals, sea lions and birds that live at the center full time. The bird area was really fun to go into because some of the birds are right up close – like the tufted (and non-tufted) puffins! There’s even a “bird of the week”, although I couldn’t find Pushki, who was the bird of the week that day.
Other Marine Life
Here’s a sampling of some of the other marine life you can see while at the Alaska SeaLife Center. By far, my favorite animal I saw while at the center was the Basket Star. I’d never seen one before and it was so incredibly cool. I’m even thinking about getting some sort of tattoo of their curly tendrils!
Here’s a soothing video of the marine wildlife you can see, and sometimes touch, at the Alaska SeaLife Center.
Conclusion
I had a wonderful time at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, AK. Their social media game is strong so I recommend you follow them. I do and was able to watch the cameras they have observing wild sea lions – and one was giving birth live; it was the most exciting 2 minutes of my life! Definitely add the Alaska SeaLife Center to your lists of stops in Seward, AK.
[…] On the morning just before Truffles got particularly sick, Shae had visited the Alaska SeaLife Center in downtown Seward while I worked. Here’s a quick summary of our visit – check out this post for more details. […]