Last week, my wife’s sister was visiting from North Carolina. It was her first time coming to see us since we moved to Minnesota in September 2023. One thing she wanted to do was to go to Mall of America.  

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She was taken aback by all the M-O-A had to offer. It's safe to say there’s not a mall in North Carolina that offers an indoor amusement park. 

And as impressive as that was, the attraction that most interested her was the Sealife Aquarium. When we first got there, it was closed, but you could see the stingrays from the mall’s first floor.  

Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
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Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
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As we came back through to leave, Sealife had opened, and we decided to go through. The greeter on the first floor (who was dressed like a dinosaur- it was spirit week leading up to Halloween) was very helpful, even pointing out there was discounted ticket price from what we saw on the kiosk. 

Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
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He explained it would take 30 to 45 minutes for us to go through, depending on how much time we spent at each exhibit. To be honest, we were there a lot longer than that. 

Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
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Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
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There were a number of different creatures on display at Sealife. Each exhibit has pictures and information about what you were seeing. 

Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
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Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
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I’d have to say that my favorite part would be the underwater tunnel, where the fish and sharks swim right over your head. This really allows you to get a good look at them as they swim along doing what they do.  

Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
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Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
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The path was easy to navigate, even for those in wheelchairs.  

Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
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Another thing that stood out to me was the diverse age groups that visited Sealife while we were inside. There were a few groups of teenagers there along with young and older couples, and families with small children. My point here is this is an attraction that should interest everyone in your family.  

Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
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Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
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Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
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My wife and I have been to several aquariums, and this ranked up there with the ones we’ve seen in the past. Maybe not as big, but from the standpoint of the neat things you get to see, Sealife is worth the time to check it out. 

Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
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Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
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Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
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Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
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Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
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Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
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There are a couple of different ticketing plans, including two membership plans.  

If you’ve never been, in my opinion it’s worth the time. It may require you to save up some money, depending on how many people are in your group, but I know three adults who went through recently that were glad we did.  

Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
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Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
Photo Credit: Dave Thomas Townsquare Media
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