Family | Life | Food | Travel

07 May 2014

Family Fun - Turtle Feeding at Sea Life


With Jamster being a huge Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan and Minxy loving all animals in general, we were thrilled to be offered the chance to feed the turtles at Sea Life in Great Yarmouth.  It's the moments like this that become treasured memories to look back on and I'll admit I was keen to get stuck in too with this exciting new experience too!

We were greeted at reception and led upstairs to the top of the walk through tank where the Mini Mes were provided with life jackets and instructed on what to do if they did fall in, however unlikely this was. Safety first! The marine biologist Darren was really friendly and made us all feel at ease above the shark infested waters. He also answered all of our questions about the turtles that we had in relation to their diet, lifestyle, habits etc which was a great way to learn about these amazing creatures. 
We all learnt some interesting things about the turtles.



The water was tapped to create noise that would attract the turtles to the surface and it wasn't long before the Mini Mes (and I) were feeding them lettuce using the pick up tool.  I think they were in
awe a little too much to say very much (that's certainly a first!). 

You can see a very brief clip of feeding in action here:



Next we headed back downstairs to begin our trip around the Sea Life centre itself, posing first for a few family pictures which we were able to purchase just before reaching the exit. 
The jelly fish section was amazing, partly due to it being in the dark with only glow up paint on the walls educating us on it's life cycle to light the way. I've always found them quite beautiful and fascinating despite their dangers and the tank lighting made them really stand out.

We continued to walk around at a leisurely pace reading the many signs about the animals within each aquarium and gathering our stamps in the Dive Log Book we received upon entry. The Mini Mes were keen to collect them all to receive a prize before leaving. Sea Life is very interactive for children, even though the majority of the animals can not be touched, as there are stop off points with facts, holes to peer through and buttons to press. They also have a Moshi Monster event at present where certain characters are hidden within the displays and once found can get you another special prize!

Activities like these really help children to be observant and take in more of what they have seen.



The aquariums are perfectly arranged for everyone to view the sea life within with ease and in a way that enables even babies in prams to see what's inside without being lifted up. The penguin section has both a floor to ceiling viewing area and an outside lookout point so you can see them from lots of angles. It was really nice watching them waddle around in the dry and then swimming through the water. Again with the stingrays in the Harbour area you are able to see them through the glass or above from the raised platform.



The Rock Pool was a firm favourite and both of the Mini Mes received a medal for their bravery - they touched crabs and let cleaner shrimp climb over their hands! They also enjoyed the new Nemo section where there were plenty of clown fish and great photo opportunities.

We were really impressed by how well maintained the tanks were, they were all tidy and the fish looked healthy which was great. We even got to see the crocodiles area being cleaned while there.
They were all nicely designed and one even had a toilet inside which Jamster found hilarious when fish swam out!



Our last stop before heading home was to the rather large gift shop with plenty of products ranging from pocket money buys to things a little more expensive, so there was something to suit every budget. Minxy selected a turtle to take home to remind her of her time there which was reasonably priced. There was also a cafe serving hot and cold food and a soft play area for smaller children to enjoy.



We really enjoyed our visit and being primarily indoors it's a great attraction come rain or shine.


General Information
Address: SEA LIFE Great Yarmouth, Marine Parade, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR30 3AH
Opening hours: 10am-4/5pm
Admission: Under 3s enter for free and there are Family Saver tickets available for up to 6 people. If you book online in advance you can save 30%

There is plenty of Pay & Display car parking nearby, it's easy to locate (on the sea front by Wellington Pier), there is full disabled access and room for prams.


You can find out more and book your tickets here:
http://www.visitsealife.com



Have you been to a Sea Life centre recently?

*We received free entry and turtle feeding for the purpose of this post. The opinions given are honest and our own*
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29 comments

  1. That looks like such a great interactive experience for kids and the perfect way to get them more involved. I might need to take my two along to a Sealife centre soon!

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  2. That looks a lovely day out - and much better than I had imagined. I had it in mind that the regional Sea Life Centres were nothing like as good as the London one, but this looks great!

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  3. I love visiting sea life centers and think the regional ones are much better than the london one. There is something about aquariums that ALL kids adore

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  4. I love going to the Sea Life Centre, my children enjoy it too :)

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  5. Firstly, great pics...I suffered with my camera at the Sea Life Centre in Bristol and barely got a handful of half-decent images! I think my children still trace their knowledge of aquatic life back to that visit...left them spellbound. It's so important for children to see the larger world they inhabit via places like this. Think I might go again, now that they're old enough to actually retain more information :) x

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  6. We love a trip to a Sealife Centre, haven't been to the Great Yarmouth one for years! It looks like you had a great time.

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  7. I am so jealous, that looks like brilliant fun :-) my daughter loves aquariums, we spent a lot of time in Bristol last year and she ended up going to the bristol one about 4 times! They can learn so much more by seeing these creatures in real life, books and tv shows are great but not the same as seeing them in person X Char

    http://charlotteskitchenblog.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1

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  8. We went to our local Sea Life centre at Easter and it was even better than I remember it - they have seals and a family of otters too!

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  9. I want to go to a Sea Life Centre!!! We're rather far away though so might have to just make do with our local one! either way, it looks and sounded amazing, especially the jelly fish bit. You lucky things! xx

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  10. That looks like such a good day. We recently went to Blue Reef. I love your picture of the Stingray x

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  11. Looks like a fab place! Kids loves exploring ;)

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  12. aw soo lucky the turtles were never there when we went, looks like it would have been great, and loves th teddy x

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  13. I used to love the Sea Life centre as a child, but I can sea (sea....what I did there? Ok, I'll stop) that they've got even better over the years. I love things like this that engage children without it always being about the latest TV show or cartoon character, though they are fun too :-)
    Love Vicky
    http://www.aroundandupsidedown.co.uk/

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  14. Looks fantastic! I would have been similarly dumbstruck if I was feeding the turtles - definitely something you will all remember. It is good to know that there is a good wet weather option on a trip to Great Yarmouth :-)

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  15. what a great day! We haven't been to a sea life centre for ages!

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  16. This looks fab!! My 2 would love to do something like this! Me and Hubby visited a HUGE aquarium when we went to Dubai 2 years ago! I could have stayed there all day it was amazing!!

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  17. Sounds fantastic we shall have to visit next time we are on holiday that way.

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  18. It has been a few years since we went to Yarmouth Sealife but the children loved it. We hope to go to the Birmingham one in the summer holidays

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  19. I've never been to a sea life centre but I really want to take the kids. I think we'd all love it. Your photos are excellent and make me want to go right now!

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  20. We went to the sea life centre last week and the kids loved finding the moshi monsters. Sadly they don't do turtle feeding but we did get to feed the penguins

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  21. Looks like a great day out! We've been meaning to go to our local sea zoo but haven't got round to it yet I think we will soon though x

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  22. We love the Sea Life Center, we visited Birmingham last September for their Poppy Cat event.

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  23. How wonderful. I love sea life centres and i am taking the girls to one in the summer! I cannot wait to see their faces :) x

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  24. aww looks like a great place! we haven't been to a sea life centre in ages! x

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  25. We love going down to the local aquarium/sea life centre, it's amazing to see all the different variety of fish and creatures in one place. Feeding the turtles sounds amazing! x

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  26. Have not been to the sea life centre in Yarmouth since my son was around 3 ( he is 13 now) and it seems to be a lot better now from your blog post :) Will be sure to take my 6 yr old there during the summer holidays :)

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  27. This looks like a fab day out, I have been wanting to take my boys to a sea life centre for some time. We are staying at Cromer at the weekend so may give it a visit thanks x

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  28. i have so so many great memories of going to the sea life centre when i was a kid, loved the summer holidays xx

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  29. Sounds like you all had a great visit. I would love to feed the turtles, sure the rest of the family would also enjoy that activity.

    Rachel Craig

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