The Waikiki Aquarium - take your kids!

The Waikiki Aquarium is a truly wonderful adventure for the entire family. It's cheap, the parking is decent, it is easy to find, and the exhibits, while educational; are also fascinating. Plan at least two hours to see every exhibit.

The Waikiki Aquarium is located at the far end of Waikiki Beach, closest to Diamond Head (the large crater visible from all of Waikiki Beach) at 2777 Kalakaua Ave. TheBus and the Waikiki Trolley normally make stops here every 15 minutes. The Aquarium is open every day except Christmas.

Admission is $7 for visitors; $5 for local residents, active duty military with ID, students with ID and senior citizens; $3.50 for youths (13-17), and persons with disabilities. Children 12 and under are free.

The Waikiki Aquarium is a fairly small building with the gift shop on the left, and the exhibits starting on the right. Going through a darkened hall leads you to the first exhibits of coral. Tanks about the size of large home aquariums, and recessed into the wall were backlit and full of life.

The last time I visited the Waikiki Aquarium, I was issued a 'wand' a long stick that looks like a remote control, and I would hold it to my ear like a telephone to hear information about the exhibits. Each exhibit had a number that I would enter into the wand to prompt the announcements. This allowed me to go at my own pace - going to the less crowded exhibits first.

As I mentioned, the first exhibits were of coral, and I'm not talking normal hard-as-nails white coral either. There were hotpink fleshy corals and purple corals that waved with the water - stuff that really reminds you coral is a living creature; not just rock. (which reminds me, if you ever get scraped across the coral be sure and get it all out of your skin. My husband has a permanent lump on his arm where some living coral decided to make its home for a while after a surfing spill many years ago).

After the coral is the jelly fish, which were in darkened tanks, and glowed under a special light - makes for some really neat pictures. There's also anemones, reef fish, frog fish, a giant clam bigger than my dog, and underwater ecosystem examples.

Past these exhibits is the shark tank, or more accurately, the predator tank. It contains a few small sharks, some groupers and Jack Trevally fish (known as Ulua in the islands). The tank, while not large, has one solid wall of glass with a seating area. If you are lucky you may be there during feeding time! Last time I was there a small boy stood up against the glass holding his toy shark up to see the real sharks swim around and around in a constant, hungry circle.

Now outside, the first exhibit is the "Edge of the Reef" which emulates certain reef conditions and allows you to view their life up close, including fish, plants, and sea urchins.

Also outside is the seal tank, where two Hawaiian Monk Seals are very entertaining. The one I assumed was a male hauled himself out of the water onto the rocks with a powerful leap and moved inland with heavy undulations of his body. The one I assumed was female (don't ask me why - maybe it was cuter) held her body upright in the water and spun in lazy circles while occasionally making huffing noises at the onlookers.

The last outside exhibit I saw was the Mahimahi Hatchery (the stocky fish with the bullish head); a donut-shaped tank with large windows allowing views of the fish constantly swimming in a circular motion. The aquarium is apparantly doing research on creating commercial Mahimahi hatcheries.

So, if you are in Waikiki with or without the kids you must make a stop at the aquarium for a complete Hawaiian visit.