Missouri's New Aquarium - An Inside Look
Being a huge fan of aquariums,
I just had to check this place out!
I just had to check this place out!
While vising Springfield, Missouri last month, I was thrilled to see that the Bass Pro Shop had opened up their new Aquarium. I still remember how much I loved the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago when I was young, so I became pretty determined to be able to go into this new one.
Some Quick Thoughts on the Experience...
With adult tickets costing $30 each (which didn't include the wildlife museum,) expectations had to be set rather high and I did come away feeling that I'd gotten my monies worth. My boyfriend and I spent over two hours seeing what this place had to offer. A few good things to know to minimize frustration:
- Don't bother trying to park in the front parking lots. Just go straight to the ones in the back. You might get lucky if you happen to get there at a slow time. However they do have an entrance in the back that's pretty much the same walking distance from your car.
- Buy your tickets ahead of time Online. They can scan the bar-code they send you in an email, so don't worry about the instructions to print them.
- Online tickets require choosing an arrival time. in a one hour window. Even though we arrived 10 minutes before our tickets stated, they didn't have a problem letting us go right it in.
- Know how to turn up the brightness on your camera! There are a lot of areas that are somewhat dark, so you'll find yourself turning the brightness up to get some shots.
What You'll See...
There's quite a bit of variety in the Springfield Aquarium that ranges across different ecosystems, fresh and salt water, a feeding and petting station, and even alive and "not so alive" exhibits. There are also some areas devoted to famous anglers, which I admittedly didn't know much about. Periodically you'd also come across some really cool sculptures and art pieces.
Huge Tanks!
There were multiple enormous cylindrical tanks (easily 30 ft. tall), this one recreating a shipwreck. As you progress through the aquarium, you're directed onto ramps that let you see these from varying heights.
The "Not-Alive" Collections
I really enjoyed the rooms with tons of different shells on display. The sheer variety of shapes, colors and sizes was amazing, with some that left me awestruck (like the one shown above.) All around (and sometimes above) were animal replicas including a huge whale with her pup hanging from the ceiling. We of course had to get the obligatory "a giant shark at my boyfriend" shot!
At the very end as you exit through the gift shop, you're bid goodbye from this sculpture. It was so hard not to smile and stare!
Jellyfish!!
Have I mentioned how much I love jellyfish?!?! While you'll never get me swim or pet them, they're just so hypnotic. I spent a good chunk of time with all the different ones they had swimming around.
More to Come!!
It was impossible to fit everything into a single post. You'll see at least two more posts coming in the next week or so with the rest of my favorite pictures and videos like these adorable jellyfish or the monstrous spider crab!
...and of course the obligatory cute kitty pic! I dare you not to awww!
Image Sources:
Bass Pro Wonders of Wildlife Aquarium
Other images were taken by me using a Moto 5 phone.
Nice to see you posting my friend!
Thank you! It's definitely been a loooong while. Hopefully this is the turn around to be posting regularly again. Though there's no way it'll be as frequent as I used to.
It was good to see you when I was down there...and the scotch eggs, mmmmmmmmmmm. Lol
Yay a post from @sykochica! Hope all is well! :-)
Hehe!
Overall I've been doing well. A while back I started a 6ish week stretch of overtime that completely drained me. It was kind of hard after that getting back into the routine of posting. But hopefully this is the start of turning that around.
You been doing well?
Cool deal! Keeping busy on my end, posting a bunch and doing my weekly music and money show on MSPWaves radio.
Well, well, well, look what the cat drug in!
Seriously, great to see you back with a post, @sykochica. So much has changed on the platform.
By the way, my favorite post was at the very end with white fur and whiskers.
Why hello!! Outside the the logo and ui change, I've got a lot of catching up to do on the new stuff. Though right now I'm just happy to be posting. It was hard to notice until after the fact how much an effect regularly posting on the day to day lifestyle.
Awww, Gizmo works hard to be that cute! I'm lucky he still allows me to live with him. Lol!
You're alive! Nice to "see" you around these parts again!
I love aquariums... one of my favorite outings as a kid was to go to the National Aquarium in Copenhagen, Denmark... I could spend hours and hours looking at the underwater worlds.
That looks like a good venue, even if a bit spendy. I could spend a LOT of time just looking at the jellyfish... I'd have to think it would be a great meditation.
Thank you! It's good to be back, breaking out of the non-social phase. :)
I definitely found it worth it for the cost. We easily could have spent another couple hours getting more/better photos and videos.
Meditating in front of the jellyfish tanks sounds like a fantastic idea! Especially this tank:
Wonderful! Love aquariums! 💓
Thank you, me too! :D
Here's a little sneak peak of an video that didn't make it into this post. It's totally going to become my "Little Nemo" screensaver!
So sweet! Thank you. 😉
She lives!
Peek a boo! Lol
These were too good not to share.
Man, it's gotten so different here. The new UI is interesting. :)
omg those videos are freaking cool :D
Wow! wonderful place. Nice to have you here again sharing posts @sykochica :)
Welcome back! It is good to see post after so long. I enjoyed so much the aquarium post and love seeing them. I think of the Shedd aquarium in Chicago and others. Thanks!
Great to have you back! It's been a while, my friend :D