Have you ever had the opportunity to pet a wallaby? Or feed a stingray? Or walk slowly along beside a huge tortoise? These experiences are what have made Seaquest a favorite place for us to visit.

Seaquest is a chain of small aquariums with about 10 locations across the United States. They are generally found in shopping malls, and they focus on the excitement of animal interactions. At their Littleton location, you can feed a variety of exotic fish and birds, visit with iguanas, wallabys, tortoises, and cats, and (for extra) you can even snorkel with stingrays and cuddle with a sloth! Some of our favorite activities were watching the koi fish eat, hanging out with the wallabys, and feeding the stingrays.

While we also love going to the zoo, I find that with the ages of my kids, the smaller size of this attraction was far more their speed. And while some zoos do provide interactive exhibits, for the most part it’s just standing and looking at the animals behind glass or enclosures. Being able to feed and touch the animals makes such an impression on their minds, and is infinitely more exciting than just staring at them.

We’ve taken friends and family to Seaquest, and I’m sure we’ll be spending a fair amount of time at the there in the coming months as my kids don’t seem to be getting tired of it. If you’ve got a location nearby, I would definitely recommend you check it out.