South Carolina Aquarium, Charleston

This is a beautiful aquarium. My kids (8, 5, and 3) really enjoy it, and it is clean, well maintained, and interactive. The staff has also been very knowledgable. I have a precocious 8 year old, and they've taught him something each time we've visited. Of course their most favorite are the touch tanks - rays, dogfish sharks, and starfish - but there is a lot more to learn and see. We have always been lucky enough to pet some animal ambassadors as well. The current Lego additions are also fun for them. They also really enjoy "meeting" the sea turtles who are being rehabilitated and playing the interactive game in that area. All in all, lots to see and do; the whole time we are there, everyone is having fun. The only downside is that it is somewhat expensive. We have a membership to the Riverbanks Zoo, which they offer a discount for. There are other organizations that, if you have a membership, the aquarium will give you a discount, it is on their website. To see everything takes us 2-2.5 hours.

Nice aquarium. Needs enlargement. Not enough to do to fill up a nice part of your day. Decent gift shop. I absolutely love the penny crushing machine. They are hard to find now days and they had 3 machines with 4 choices each. Nice selection. Prices were a little expensive in the gift shop. Didn't find anything I had to have or couldn't live without. Especially enjoyed touching the dog shark I think it was. I spent at least 30 minutes there. They were so sociable.