by Angel Ellis Khoury
Its feeding time at the North Carolina Aquarium, and something or someone is always hungry. By the time you've helped the staff feed the rays, or gone behind the scenes to watch the sharks during one of their weekly feedings, you're liable to have worked up an appetite, too. Luckily, special programs such as Breakfast with the Rays and Snack with the Sharks include some "people food"; for you, not the sharks. (Space is limited for these two programs, and advance registration is required. Cost is $10.)
If you miss those special programs, you can still catch some of the regularly scheduled feedings. At the Graveyard of the Atlantic Tank, watch volunteer divers feed more than 250 fish, or attend their talk, Dialogue With a Diver. Hungry horseshoe crabs, guitarfish and rays chow down during the Close Encounters feeding at the Touch Tank, or stop by the Wetlands Exhibit to see alligators and otters dine. These regularly scheduled activities are free with your admission to the aquarium.
Food isn't the only thing on the menu of the aquarium's exciting programming. Crafts workshops, classes on crabbing and fishing, and field trips are also offered; pre-registration is required. For four whole days of fun, sign your child up for the Aquatic Adventures Day Camp. Camps are geared for ages 7 to 9 and 10 to 12. Activities include fishing, crafts, birding, working with live animals, field trips to places such as Nags Head Woods and exploration of topics such as weather, salt marshes and plankton. No camp experience would be complete without one slightly scary experience.
On the last night, during "Sleeping With the Sharks," kids get to snuggle down in sleeping bags in front of the aquarium's largest tank, with hundreds of fish lulling them to sleep or not.
While these special programs are great, there's nothing better than a normal visit to the aquarium, where you can stand mesmerized for hours while the fish swim past, leaving you happy in the thought that you're king of the food chain. For information about the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island, call (252) 473-3494 or visit www.ncaquariums.com.
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