The St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station, St. Louis City

photo credit to stlouisaquarium.com

 Location: 201 S. 18th St., St. Louis, MO 63103

Website: https://www.stlouisaquarium.com/

We have been to several aquariums in the country before visiting this one because my family just loves aquariums. We've been to Shedd's in Chicago, Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg, Wonders of Wildlife in Springfield, the aquarium in Branson, and Sea Life in Kansas City. While this aquarium is the smallest of them all it was still a fun experience that we enjoyed. I'll lay out all this aquarium has to offer so you can know what to expect. 

When you first enter, you ride a virtual train to get to the exhibits. They let groups a few at a time into a space that mimics the grand lobby of Union Station complete with an amazing laser show on the ceiling. They also have a replica of the clock tower, complete with discus fish which have round shapes like clocks. 

The first exhibit is called Confluence and takes you to the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. These tanks have gar, bass, catfish, paddlefish, and more. 

Global waters is another freshwater exhibit that has doctor fish. We loved this exhibit, where you stick your hand in a tank and the fish nibble on the dead skin of your hand. It's a funky sensation.  

Bumblebee dart frogs

The river otters were all sleeping the day we were there so we didn't get to see them play, unfortunately.

The schedule changes daily but they have a lot of informative "Creature Features" each day. The show we caught was the sugar gliders and it was fun to watch them glide from the rope structure to the animal handler. 

Ocean Shore has several touch tanks and a huge water table. They give each child a boat and they can watch them float downriver and manipulate valves and doors. 

The turtle tank

Chocolate chip sea stars, sea urchins, horseshoe crabs, and sea cucumbers live in this touch tank.

The stink ray and shark touch tank was a huge hit with my kids. We were here a good 30 minutes while the kids enjoyed petting the rays. 

Next to the sting ray table is Lord Stanley, the rare blue lobster donated by a bar in Massachusetts.

This cute area has several activities for kids and it's enclosed with a gate and an attendant so you don't have to worry about your kids running off. There were paper hats you could color, rocks to stack, a tunnel to climb through, and a Splash and Bubbles display.

Cutting out his hammerhead hat

After this, it's time to head to Shark Canyon. They saved the best for last.

The walk there is dark and has Jaws-inspired music playing. There are also shark videos on the overhead screens. 

This is their largest tank at 250,000 gallons. You will see sandbar sharks, lesser devil rays, goliath groupers, and sea turtles.

The last area is the Deep. Here you will see sea dragons, octopuses, jellies, and eels. 

I could watch jellyfish swim for hours!

You can easily make a day of it at Union Station by visiting the other activities here including the mirror maze, the Wheel, mini golf, the carousel, and the ropes course. There are also several restaurants including the Soda Fountain and the Train Shed.