Jujube’s final visitor experience in May was at the Birch Aquarium, part of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.
We were joined on this trip by her nieces, Addy and Alice.
One of the main attractions at the aquarium is the recently-completed Scripps Living Seas Gallery, which displays several of the ecosystems and sea life of the Pacific.
Here is a sampling from that exhibit. First, fish . . . and some Garden Eels, which look like worms in sand. (The videos in this post can also be viewed on YouTube. Just click on “YouTube” at lower right.)
Also, jellyfish.
A small ray provided viewers a lot of enjoyment doing something that seemed to give it some enjoyment as well. It spent several minutes repeatedly seeming to climb up the tank and then glide down. On the video below, you can also hear a young child urge it on.
The aquarium also offers an extensive selection of seahorses and seadragons. Here are some.
Jujube and the nieces spent a lot of time at “Blue Beach,” an activities space at the Aquarium. There, they used available materials to build small boats and test their seaworthiness in a flowing stream.
The nieces also fulfilled an Aquarium-visit requirement at Blue Beach by posing in the shark’s mouth.
Another distinctive exhibit at the Aquarium features Little Blue Penguins, native to New Zealand and southern Australia. They’re the smallest penguins, generally growing up to 10 inches tall and three pounds in weight. They don’t live in snow, but on coastal dunes and rocky shores.
I enjoy watching octopuses, but rarely see them in action. Often, they seem to be avoiding public view, up in a corner of their space. Not on this visit! Got to see one in action, moving across the tank.
Finally, on the way out with a stop at the restrooms, noticed this sign. I assume “they” are penguins, not women.
