Today we visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium. According to Zagat, it is the number one rated aquarium in the United States. I've only visited three major aquariums: 1) The New England Aquarium in Boston 2) The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago 3) The Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey. Out of these three, I would say that the Shedd Aquarium is the best. It's not that the other two aren't good, it's just that the Monterey Bay Aquarium only features marine life from the Monterey Bay, which is fine, but the Shedd Aquarium is a much more comprehensive aquarium. At the same time, even though the Monterey Bay Aquarium is smaller than the Shedd, it has more thorough exhibits. One of the best exhibits was the Kelp Forest Exhibit, pictured in this post. They also had a really interesting exhibit on the Outer Bay, which featured hammerhead sharks. Another cute exhibit was the Otter exhibit. As expected, the Aquarium was packed with kids, but still enjoyable. Overall the Aquarium offers visitors a glimpse of the diverse marine life that lives in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Truly, the Aquarium is a must-see for anyone visiting Monterey.
