Birch Aquarium in La Jolla

After racing down to the Del Mar Fare Grounds early yesterday morning, only to discover we had chosen one of the two days out of the month in which it closes to the public, we decided a decent and non-disappointing alternative would be the Birch Aquarium at Scripps University.

What comes to mind when attempting an overhead perspective of the aquarium is the world “manageable”. The aquarium itself is quite small, with what I estimate to be around 25-30 tanks and window displays, its rivals beat it by miles.

As your focus shifts from point to point throughout the dark, neon-decorated hallway of exhibits, what is noticeable is not the variety of aquatic species housed there (for the variety is not wide). What is noticeable is the common denominator of the collection: a common proximity to San Diego and its surrounding bodies of water.

From Leapord Sharks (what appears to be a small toy shark that moves) to Moon Jellies (small, harmless jellyfish which expand to create a disc-like profile), they can all be found in the bays and beaches surrounding San Diego.

This aspect to the aquarium makes for an engaging look at the aquatic profile of the city. Knowing you may have brushed up against a Manta Ray or Dragonfish while taking a dip at Mission Beach creates a far more engaging aspect than looking at a fish that’s only to be found in South Africa.

Affixed to the aquarium is a second exhibit. Though it is not exclusively about the ocean, the correlation is direct enough to justify housing both exhibits in one location. This second exhibit explores global warming, greenhouse gasses, and their effect on the ocean reef.

The display does a decent job of keeping even children engaged in the information featured. The displays do have their overdone moments: The paint-the-octopus video-game and rearrange-the-sharks wall struck me as crossing the line of proper fund allocation. This is a hardly noticeable offense, however, and is not a disqualifier.

The price of admission for adults is $12, and for students is only $7.50, if you have the funds, go ahead and check it out!

1. The San Diego Zoo
2. The Japanese-American History Museum
3. Gaslamp Historical Foundation Museum

Tagged as: California