Newport Aquarium in Newport, KY

 

 

If I could describe the Newport Aquarium in three words, those words would be sharks, sharks and sharks…

We really enjoyed our visit to the Newport Aquarium in Newport, Kentucky (just right next to Cincinnati, Ohio). It is a cute aquarium located right on the Levee. We loved seeing all of the sea creatures, but especially the sharks and shark rays.

It is quite an experience to have a shark swim right up to you…a little scary and fascinating all at the same time.

 

 

Below: After some unenthusiastic photos in the lobby, we headed down the escalator to begin our tour.

 

 

 

 

We were fascinated with the Shark Rays. The Newport Aquarium has 4 Shark Rays -Sunshine, Scooter, Sweet Pea, and Spike.

 

 

We enjoyed learning facts about the different kinds of sharks at the Newport Aquarium. There are Sand Tiger Sharks, Sandbar Sharks, Blacktip Reef Sharks, California Roof Sharks, and Port Jackson Sharks.

 

We’ve been to several aquariums, and this one did seem to be on the smaller side. It doesn’t have the open floor plan than many others have. It is more of a series of glass tunnels and hallways leading from one exhibit to another.

 

 

There is a small cafeteria area called Sharky’s Café in the aquarium. There are snacks and drinks here (and restrooms).

 

Below: Beyond Sharky’s Café is Shark Central and the kids were able to touch sharks as they swan by.

 

 

The kids really enjoyed seeing all the frogs and playing in the little play area in The Frog Bog. There are over 20 species of exotic frogs in this area.

 

 

 

The aquarium is undergoing some renovations and adding a stingray exhibit which will be nice when it is finished.

 

Even the fixtures and décor were ocean related…very cute. The walls were painted with murals of sharks and other sea creatures and there was a jelly fish light fixture.

 

Below: We found Nemo and Marlin (we also found Dory, but my pic of her didn’t turn out).

 

 

Below: The kiddos also enjoyed watching all of the turtles in the aquarium

 

Below:  Petting Starfish at the Shore Gallery

 

 

Below:  We next visited the Penguin Palooza Area. There is a small area that is set up like a theatre with rows of seats and the  “big screen” is a huge glass where we could watch the penguins.

 

 

 

 

At the very end of the aquarium, we were able to walk across the Shark Bridge. It is a V-shaped Rope Bridge that we were able to walk across while the sharks swam beneath us. This was probably one of the kids’ favorite features of the aquarium.  It wasn’t very crowded on the rainy, Monday in February that we went so the kids were able to cross the bridge several times.

 

 

After crossing the Shark Bridge, we entered the Gift Shop area which leads back to the lobby. As long as you have your tickets, you can re-enter and go through the aquarium again that same visit (they let us anyway).

We had a lot of fun at the Newport Aquarium, and we found the exhibits to be very fascinating. I also have to say that the aquarium staff was very helpful and nice. They would stop and talk to the kiddos and answer any questions that they had. One lady talked to the kiddos about sharks and let them touch shark teeth.

 

Have you been to Newport Aquarium? What did you think of it?

 

Newport Aquarium  //  One Aquarium Way – Newport, KY 41071  //  1.800.406.3474

Newport Aquarium Website

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