Audubon Nature Institute
Annnnd it’s already Thursday! TGIT?!
So one thing I have been meaning to talk about this week is the Audubon Nature Institute. The group is comprised of 4 attractions: the zoo, the aquarium, the insectarium and the IMAX theatre. Over the past two weekends we checked off all 4!
As a gift, we received passes to all of the Audubon Nature Institute attractions and the only rule of the passes is that once you go to the first location, you must attend all of the other locations within 30 days!! Since we are moving in 2 weeks (omg already!?) we had to really commit to going to all of the fun attractions..! The weather has been PERFECT this past month in terms of temperature (don’t remind me about those tornados) so we decided to go to hit up all of the Audubon adventures before we move!
This was actually my second time going to the aquarium and by looking at the building from the outside it is hard to imagine there being that many fish inside since it doesn’t seem very large… well that is completely an illusion. They use their space extremely well. The layout of the aquarium is the same as IKEA. Once you start off in one path, you are committed until you walk through the entire aquarium. I actually prefer this layout because you don’t miss anything! One thing to note: there are parts that involve stairs but there is an escalator/elevator option for an alternate route if you so chose.
The aquarium had your basics: sharks, jellyfish, seahorses, Nemo, Dory, etc. One unique thing that it has is a stingray petting tank. For those who have never done this before… DO IT. Stingrays are the softest, smoothest (and slightly slimy) animals I have ever felt! So much fun! They also put on a penguin feeding event which is super fun to watch. The otters have been super entertaining the both times I’ve gone! Oh! There was also an anaconda there! I’m still slightly obsessed with seeing one because I have never seen one before in the many zoos/aquariums I have visited. Yes I also loved the Anaconda movies… don’t judge! There is an area of the aquarium that, as you are walking though it and staring at the fishes, there are actually Owls and Hawks up high along the wall. Honestly if you didn’t know to look up you would completely miss them! The aquarium was a good time! Here are some of my fishy pictures….
Entergy Giant Screen Theatre (IMAX)
My boyfriend and I loveeeed it! It was sooo beautiful seeing all of the underwater plants and animals in a 3D movie! The movie focused on creatures that work together … such as how the anemone protects the clown fish … or the tiny fish that clean off sharks. Super educational! One thing I learned (and is my new favorite fun fact) there are these sea slugs that are totally care free… wouldn’t you think things would want to come and eat them!? Well! Nothing eats them! Why you ask!? They taste bad! Ha!! These bad tasting sea slugs just get to go on with their daily business without a care in the world because every sea creature knows that they would regret taking a bite out of them! Definitely a defense mechanism I never heard of before!
Behold the bad tasting sea slugs!
I also learned about Christmas tree worms which are so pretty! Worms?! Pretty?! YES!!!
The movie was great! I highly recommend it!
So here is the deal with the insectarium. This place is a little boys dream! Me on the other hand… ehhh I'm not a huge fan of the bugs. We ended up walking through it super quick. We did take a break for the 4D bug movie the museum had. It was cute! Nothing special… but def cute. If you have ever been to Disney World and watched the Philhar Magic… same concept… nothing too extreme!
By far the BEST part of the insectarium was the butterfly garden!!! They are free-roaming and are used to people so they land all over you! Such a fun experience! My boyfriend had to basically drag me out of there because I had zero desire to leave!! Not to mention I had a butterfly camped on my head who had no intention to fly away! So much fun!! Here are my pretty butterfly pictures!
Oh I forgot! So as mentioned… not into the buggies. But!! there was this little blue crawfish I thought was worthy of a picture!
Isn't he kind of cute??
PS- The Insectarium is also right in the French Quarter so it is easy access if you are in the area!
PPS- They also validate parking in the Canal Place parking garage!! Woot!
And finally to wrap this up: the zoo!! Who doesn't love the zoo!? The zoo is located a decent distance from downtown New Orleans so if you are touristing in the area you will need to either A) have a car B) take a cab/uber/bus or C) take the trolley. The Audubon Zoo was a pretty good size so perfect for a nice weather day! I found it to be very clean and relatively big! There wasn't anything super unique that made it stand out from any other zoo… one thing I've noticed is that southern zoos capitalize on African and other warm location animals so there were plenty of those types of animals there! They also have a new seal exhibit which was fun!
At certain times of the day zoo keepers bring out a couple different animals they allow you to interact with and pet. We got to pet a snake, lizard and a super cute turtle (who was mostly interested in eating lettuce). Fun stuff!
I was totally too absorbed in the zoo to take a lot of pictures but here are my few…
This totally bummed out and bored Gorilla...
And this super cute Giraffe who loves his sugar cane!
Long story short... The Audubon Nature Institute is fantastic! There is something for everyone! Great for kids and adults! The pass we used wasn't exactly cheap but is a big money saver if you are interested in doing all of these activities within 30 days! It was a great way to spend the last two weekends and say goodbye to New Orleans before we move back to Baton Rouge! <3 WC
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