Review: Behind the Scenes Tour at Weymouth SEA LIFE Centre
We have been season pass holders for Weymouth SEA LIFE Centre since the kids were tiny, as it is such a good day out for families, with plenty of sea creatures to see, a large adventure playground and a splash park area for the summer.
Now the kids are in their teens/tweens, they are more interested in conservation and how the creatures are looked after, so when Weymouth SEA LIFE Centre launched their Behind the Scenes Tour, I knew they would love it.
The behind the scenes tour starts at the top of the park, next to the seal walk and lets you explore the secrets of Weymouth aquarium with one of their dedicated experts.
Our expert was Carl and the first thing he did was show us a tiger shark jaw, different types of mermaid purses and how the sharks develop inside them.
We also discovered the penguin hatchery and how the penguins eggs are incubated and taken care of – apparently the Fairy Penguins are particularly clumsy, so they replace their real eggs with a porcelain one, whilst the real egg is incubated.
From the initial welcome, we then moved to the next room, where we saw how they create the perfect environment for the creatures in their care, using sea water which is pumped and treated from the sea just over the road.
In this room, we also got to see some of the new arrivals, including hundreds of sea horses, axolotl and mermaid purses almost ready to hatch – you could see the babies moving inside.
There was also the opportunity to take part in a hands-on activity, where we discovered how sharks are tagged, weighed and scanned when they arrive at the SEA LIFE centre.
The final part of the tour was to see the rays and sharks that are currently in quarantine, as they are still too small to join their peers in the public areas.
The SEA LIFE Weymouth behind the scenes tour lasted 45 minutes and was an interesting and informative experience for all the family.
SEA LIFE entry and the behind the scenes tours costs from £30.45 per adult and £26.45 for children. This gives you unlimited time at the SEA LIFE centre and a timed entry into the behind the scenes tour.
Disclaimer: We were guests of Weymouth SEA LIFE Centre for the purpose of a review. All thoughts and opinions are our own
