Exploring the Underwater World at the Maui Ocean Center
We love the underwater world. The colourful fish. The peculiar coral reef. The marine wildlife. The mystery and the unfamiliar.
We love to scuba dive and snorkel, but full day excursions aren’t in the cards right now with an 8 month old infant. Soon, but we’re not quite there yet.
Whenever we visit a tropical environment we get an itch to get under the water, so we were thrilled to see that a visit to the Maui Ocean Center was on our #seeMaui itinerary. It allowed us to get our underwater fix and introduce Baby B to Hawaii’s undersea world (even though he likely won’t remember any of it).
While at the state-of-the-art marine park, we thought it would be fun to try some photo time lapse, to capture the sharks, fish and eagle rays swimming in the giant aquarium. Normally we would just shoot regular video, but the time lapse actually turned out pretty good (we’re still trying to figure out, so your feedback is welcome!).
Click on the image below to watch the time lapse video
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Having trouble viewing the video?
Watch directly on our YouTube channel – Shark infested waters in Maui
The marine park doesn’t feel that big, but the facility is actually over 3 acres and showcases over 60 indoor and outdoor exhibits, including the Living Reef, Turtle Lagoon, Hammerhead Harbor, Marine Mammal Discovery Center, Sea Jelly Gallery and the Open Ocean.
Our favourite exhibit was the Open Ocean, it’s worth the price of admission all on its own. The massive 750,000 gallon salt water aquarium is filled with a variety of sharks, rays and large fish. It’s quite disorienting when you wander through the 54-foot-long clear tunnel, especially when a large shark swims right over your head!
Nicole and Baby B travel through the Open Ocean tunnel
The Open Ocean aquarium is a big hit with the kids
It’s not every day you get to snap a photo with both an eagle ray and hammerhead shark in it!
Incredible living coral reef exhibit
Can you spot the two fish in this photo?
Reef sharks and colourful fish in the aquarium
Baby B kept lunging at the glass, trying to catch the big fish. It was quite comical
Interesting tidbits about the Maui Ocean Center
- It is the largest tropical reef aquarium in the Western Hemisphere, hosting over 400,000 visitors annually
- It was voted Hawaii’s top rated family attraction by Zagat Survey, US Family Travel Guide
- It features more than 60 self-paced exhibits
- All of the animals at Maui Ocean Center are found in Hawaiian waters
- It offers scuba divers the rare opportunity to swim in the giant aquarium with its Shark Dive Maui program. How cool is that? Not many dive operations can guarantee a hammerhead, tiger shark and eagle ray sighting in one dive!
- It embraces Hawaii’s rich natural and cultural heritage through a variety of its exhibits and education programs, proudly making it “The Hawaiian Aquarium”
For more info, visit its website: www.MauiOceanCenter.com
Many thanks to the Maui Ocean Center and Seascape Ma’alaea Restaurant for the complimentary admission and lunch that was provided to these hungry Canucks (the fish tacos were delicious!).
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Lovely writeup and pics! Thanks for stopping by, Cam, Nicole & Baby B!
Thanks for having us! 🙂
Looks like a really nice Aquarium with a diverse sea-life population. I really like the tunnel, makes you feel like you are under the ocean.
It’s a great aquarium, especially for those not adventurous enough to snorkel or scuba dive. The main tank had so many sharks and rays – it was cool to see!
Amazing pictures! Looks like there’s lots to see there!
The open ocean tunnel looks really cool. Great video, guys!
That is pretty coo. Normally I don’t like video in the middle of a post (somehow too distracting), but the timelapse gives it something cool.
I’ve been to the Monterey Aquarium a couple of times. I can’t really get into the mini tanks, but the enormous ones are fun. The Sea Rays are my favorite from your video.