What better way to spend the afternoon (and only $8 total) than swimming with sharks, sun-bathing with alligators, twirling with seahorses and chasing dart frogs in the lush tropics? The NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher delivers!

Although is not as big as Ripley’s in Myrtle Beach, it still one of the most fun and affordable aquariums in the Carolinas.

Admission is $8 adults, $7 seniors, $6 children 6-17 and free for those 5 and under. FREE admission on Veteran’s Day and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!

The Aquarium is open 9AM to 5PM year around (except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s). We arrived all giddy-up after an exciting ferry ride from Southport (you can also take Hwy 421, 15 miles south from Wilmington).

What kids love to see at the aquarium

The thrill of the day is the scuba demonstration (10:30AM and 2:30PM) inside the 235,000 gallons, Cape Fear Shoals tank. During the 40 minutes show you can ask questions and the divers will interact with you and the fish as they answer.

Alligator greetings! Start your visit with the Cape Fear Conservatory a large wooded atrium, filled with streams, ponds and swamps, home to frogs, snakes, bass, catfish and perch. Just stay away from the carnivorous plants and venomous snakes.

The MVP here is Luna, a rare albino alligator one of only 50 known to exist in the world! However our “swamp ghost” princess cozies up under a special UV light, eats gourmet fish and snacks and indulges in a thermo-regulated pool.

Meet Salsa, the famous matriarch humpback whale. Over 30 years old, mother of at least 7 offspring she’s on of the most photographed whales on the Atlantic Coast. She passes though the North Carolina waters on summer maternity rendezvous or winter feeding grounds.

Jolly up watching the 6 months old loggerhead turtle prance around her pool. Keep your fingers away, she’ll bite them thinking they are shrimp. Learn about the amazing “march to sea” struggle that millions hatchlings endure every year.

Check out the skull of an adult loggerhead turtle. The tiny hole in the middle is for the brain…

Another kids favorite is the live animal feedings. Watch stingrays “hunt” for fish, touch a rays’ barb, learn how to prevent accidental stings and much more.

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My favorite exhibit was the Exotic Aquatics featuring strange creatures from the Red and Mediterranean Seas, the West African Coast, and the Indo-Pacific: venomous lionfish, gigantic spiny lobsters, lethal dart frogs, and cranky octopus.

Here is a virtual tour of the aquarium. It took us 2 hours to see it all.

More fun children activities in Wilmington
• Play with hundreds of model trains at the NC Railroad Museum ($7 adults, $3 children 2-12)
• Dance, be a doctor, a scientist or join the circus at the Children’s Museum ($8 admission)
• Come close to terrific, amazing and deadly snakes and alligators at Cape Fear Serpentarium ($8 admission)

Love and respect the rivers, ponds and the ocean in Wilmington NC!

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