Our Frugal Family Outing

by Karen on May 20th, 2008

This is supposed to be Wordless Wednesday, but I wanted to tell you about our inexpensive family outing.

A few weeks ago, I told you about some thrifty entertainment options in Western North Carolina. We decided to take a family day trip to the Catawba Science Center. Of course, we decided to go on Friday because that’s the day for free admission! :)

My favorite part of the Science Center was the water life. I grew up on the NC coast and the fish area reminded me a lot of the NC Aquarium.

science center 1

science center 2

This turtle swam right up to us. I’m not sure if he wanted attention or food. lol

science center 3

You’re not going to believe this tank. As you can see from some of the pictures, this is an open tank. It is a few feet tall and has glass windows on the sides so that you can see inside easily. This tank has sharks and stingrays inside!!!! And there’s my kid sticking his hands into the tank. The eyes you see reflecting from my flash are from a stingray.

science center 4

Uh huh, sharks and stingrays.

science center 5

See how close we are to the sharks? Don’t worry, these are non-aggressive bottom dwelling sharks. Even still, it was a bit freaky to me.

science center 6

Each day, there is a scheduled feeding at the shark and stingray tank. It is awesome to watch!! Of course, you shouldn’t stick your hands in the tank until after the sharks are done eating, so that they don’t get overzealous and accidentally bite your hand. The stingrays get pretty friendly after feeding time. They come up to the sides of the tank for you to pet them. Slippery things. The sharks get slow and sleepy after they eat. Sounds like my house. ;)

science center 7

science center 8

The science center also has many other exhibits. Our family enjoyed the shadow room. There is a light that flashes every 20 seconds and it causes your shadow to appear on the screen.

science center 9