Under the Sea

Spring is in the air and everyone is migrating towards the warming coasts, and there is no better place to go during Easter holiday than North Carolina's crystal coast.

Atlantic Beach is a favorite getaway among the people of North Carolina, especially with the aquarium in Pine Knoll Shores being just down the road. This aquarium contains river otters, sea turtles, and an enclosure where sharks swim around a tank they share with a scaled down replica of a sunken German U-boat. But that's not all they offer.

"Among the four state-supported aquariums, Pine Knoll Shores is the only one with a statewide focus," said Jeffrey Turner in Our State: North Carolina magazine.

They have galleries devoted to the ocean, tidal waters, mountains, piedmont, and coastal plains areas of North Carolina, which is unique to this particular North Carolina aquarium out of the four in the state.

"I really like the hands on section with the sting rays and the crabs! It's just really neat to interact with the animals and the aquarium volunteers,"said Elizabeth Ayscue of Raleigh.

Visitors can pet an assortment of rays and pick up different types of shellfish for a more hands on learning experience.  There are volunteers on hand in each section of the aquarium, too, that will answer any questions you may have about the aquatic life that call the aquarium home.

"And that tank is amazing! I honestly could stare at it all day. It's that awesome," said Ayscue.

The tank that houses several different types of sharks and large fish. The window that separates the visitors from the sharks is a whopping 65 feet wide. It is the largest tank out of the four aquariums that can be found in North Carolina.

Through out the day, visitors can be found staring at the tank and the animals that swim around in it, completely losing track of time. Kids with their faces pressed against the glass and adults sitting on the benches soaking in the glow from the water, everyone leaves the aquarium in awe of all they have learned and experienced at the aquarium that day.

Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium:
1 Roosevelt Blvd.,
Pine Knoll Shores, NC 28512.
Hours: 9am -5pm daily.
Admission: $8 for ages 13-61; $7 for ages 62 and up; $6 for ages 3-12; no charge for ages 2 and under and NC Aquarium Society members.
For more information, visit www.ncaquariums.com/pine-knoll-shores or call 800-832-FISH (3474).