Oh wow, how exciting! There are so many awesome activities that are age appropriate for 4-5 year olds – your kids are going to have fun! It does depend on what sea creatures they will see at the acquarium – and tailor your activities around that. (Manly sea life sanctuary contains just Sydney-based sea creatures, so they might be different to the acquariums near you).

I’m always a big fan of hands-on experiences; can you set up a touch-friendly mini pool? You could have things like sea urchins, sea weed, sea cucumbers, shark eggs (kids always love hearing they are sometimes called mermaid purses!). Can you set up a hands-on sand pit? You could bury fossils and have kids discover them, and learn about the prehistoric sea. Kids always love seahorses – maybe you could do a craft based on Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle, and teach kids how sometimes fathers play a big role in the ocean? What about something to do with mammals and how they are different to sea creatures? Or how crustaceans grow out of their exoskeletons? You could look at the tides, and the role the moon plays? So many ideas!! Let me know what you end up doing!

I especially love how it focuses on native Sydney marine animals, and then when if you step outside for a play on the beach afterwards, you can imagine all those same marine creatures, living just there…

Oh you’ll love it Anna. We’ve been quite a few times now, and it’s always a lovely outing, especially if you allow some time for sand play afterwards. 🙂