We were invited to the Sealife Aquarium in London for a VIP experience of their new Ocean Invaders attraction. We have been to the aquarium before (our most recent Sealife visit was last year) but the girls always love it so for us it is always a fantastic day out. Last time, Sienna was just turning 2 years old, so she enjoyed it but she was still little. This time she was really taking it all in and had the most amazing time. I really loved seeing her get so involved.
As I mentioned, this invitation was to have a VIP experience so we were able to see this attraction with 9 other bloggers before the aquarium was open to the general public. Unfortunately, we arrived a little bit late and we missed the VIP tour, but we went inside the aquarium regardless as we were still able to see everything. There weren’t many people inside, as it was still early so it was great to go around and explore with calm.
EXPLORING THE AQUARIUM
Bella happy to be at the aquarium
sharks, fishes and crocodiles
Penguins land
The jellyfish attraction was at the end so we went through all the other rooms first. We passed through sharks, a sparkling silver shoal of sand eels and a super cute Common Octopus, beautiful Rays, gorgeous tropical fish, Green Sea Turtles, cute Clownfish, Seadragons and Seahorses, Piranhas with ruby-red bellies and a Cuban Crocodile and Penguins.
Stroking a starfish
The girls loved that they were able to stroke a Starfish, tickle a Sea Anemone and feel the shell of a Crab. It is great to let the kids have these kind of experiences.
OCEAN INVADERS – JELLYFISH EXPERIENCE
This attraction is the UK’s largest jellyfish experience. Ocean Invaders will take you on a journey into the fascinating world of jellyfish through three unique interactive zones.
Interesting Facts
- Jellyfish are older than all of our ancient reptiles. Scientists believe they first swam in our oceans around 500 million years ago! There are more than 350 different species of jellyfish.
- The Lion’s Mane Jellyfish is over two metres tall! That’s taller than you! Others are as tiny as a pinhead. They can be found in all of our oceans and sometimes in fresh water too.
- Jellyfish have venomous tentacles that they use to capture their prey. Most jellyfish are harmless to humans, but a few including the Box Jellyfish can cause a painful sting. Some species of baby fish are able to hide amongst Jellyfish tentacles for protection!
Different types of Jellyfish
You will see on your visit Moon Jellyfish, Upside Down Jellyfish, Japanese Sea Nettles and Amakusa Jellyfish all year around.
And there will be some new additions for short periods throughout the year which will include White Spotted Jellyfish, Lagoon Jellyfish, Flame Jellyfish and much more!
Three Zones
This attraction is amazing. You can observe over 5,000 jellyfish. The new exhibition is interactive, sensory-led and divided into three zones: Discover, Understand and Wow.
You literally feel like if you are submerged in the sea surrounded by millions of stunning jellyfish. It was very special.
ZONE 1: DISCOVER JELLYFISH
In this zone, you will follow the jellyfish lifecycle through five clear stages of evolution and you will be able to view their smallest jellyfish through special prism views! Fantastic right?
ZONE 2: UNDERSTAND JELLYFISH
In this zone, you will understand both the good and the bad about jellyfish. How and when jellyfish take over the oceans! Do all jellyfish sting? You can even create your very own digital jellyfish!
You can test how a jellyfish sting might be. I have not been stung by a jellyfish before but I have friends that have because in Peru where I am from there are some periods during the summer when there are a lot of jellyfish. I know it stings a lot and it lasts for a while. I have heard that peeing on the sting helps to release the pain but according to the Red Cross this belief is misplaced and the best thing to use is sea water or vinegar which is more effective as urine doesn’t have the right chemical make-up.
We saw here the upside down jellyfish as well as more tanks of jellyfish featuring other types. They also have a huge interactive computer game. The idea is that you can play on tablets creating your own jellyfish by adjusting the size, temperature, food and current to see how big you can manage to grow your jellyfish swarm.
ZONE 3: WOWED BY JELLYFISH
This zone is impressive. You will see more clever tanks and more amazing illuminated jellyfish. I won’t spoil this zone for you by telling you too much about it, but you will be WOWED!
This is a must see attraction. It is very interesting not just for kids but for adults too. The different colours of the jellyfish are gorgeous. We learnt a lot about them and my girls were very impressed. You will be left feeling amazed after visiting Sealife.
If you would like to check some great discounts or packages to visit London Sealife, Aquarium check out 365 tickets.
Have you visited the Sealife Aquarium in London before? What do you think of this Jellyfish attraction?
*Disclosure: we were invited to this event for the purpose of this blog post. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
Thanks for stopping by,
Love you all ❤️
Franca 💋
Tracey Bowden says
This looks brilliant! We didn’t visit here on our recent trip to London as Olivia isn’t a sea life fan, but I am!
Kel says
I love Jellyfish, they’re so weird and interesting! I’ve never been to Sealife London but I’ve been to the Scarborough one a couple of times and its a great place to visit!
Carol desjardins says
Lovely pictures.
We have visited Sealife in Birmingham.
the frenchie mummy says
I can’t believe I missed you! I was there too! Next time maybe! It looks like you all had a great time x
Jenny (Accidental Hipster Mum) says
Those jellyfish look so pretty and I did not know all that stuff about the,! Such gorgeous photos, it looks like an amazing place to take the kids, I wish I was closer so a visit was more likely.
#KCACOLS
alana - BurniShed chaos says
Wow, it looks amazing. I’ve added this to my list of attractions if I ever manage to get the kids to London, they’ll love this x
#KCACOLS
KeepMum says
I Love Jellyfish they are so pretty! This is such an informative post, I always thought peeing on jellyfish stings relived the pain too! #KCACOLS
Bread says
Wow, that’s awesome. I love aquariums. We took Snappy to the SeaLife Centre in Birmingham at Christmas. #kcacols
the frenchie mummy says
Back with #KCACOLS and cute pics!!!
Wendy says
Wow..jellyfish are kind of mesmerising. I’ve never been to a sea life aquarium buy it looks like a great day out xx #kcacols
Epril says
Omg! We did this kind of visit as well with Brighton’s sea life but it’s for the claws press launch so we got to see the Japanese crabs which is a great additional to the attraction. Your visit looks amazing. I’m sure London’s sea life is bigger than the one in brighton. #KCACOLS
Maria says
We were also lucky enough to be invited to this as you know and M loved it too! I’m going to have to go back and take E soon. #KCACOLS
Roger Timbrook says
Wow. That is a cool exhibit. Pity I don’t live in london and it was last year! But it’s a great way to educate people about seemingly dangerous jellyfish!
Musharraf says
Jellyfish is something I was passionate about
lashari says
It was very important to write on jellyfish
Lizzy Wang says
brilliant!
Lovely kids ,lovely pics
jellyfish is really Very mysterious creature
unique