Summer 2021: Ocean Week

 Week 8 of 8: Ocean Week

St. Louis Aquarium

This was our very last themed week of the summer so I was happy to end it on a high note. There are so many fun things to do with an Ocean theme and it gave us a great opportunity to visit some places we had never been before!

Destinations

Our park this week was Brentwood Park which has a small but very unique playground that has an ocean theme. There's a Pirate Ship and a whale! We were the only ones there and I'm not sure if it was because it was an exceptionally hot day or if it's because this park feels so small and out of the way, but the kids did miss making new friends. Even so, they entertained themselves in triple digit heat for almost 3 hours. 

The biggest, most obvious attraction for this week was the St. Louis Aquarium! I have been so anxious to check this place out but hadn't found the right time yet. I was a little nervous about an indoor destination give what all has been going on in the area re: Covid but they had a firm mask policy (required for anyone over 5 and most people there where over 5). This also worked out really great with the weather as it was especially hot this week and it was refreshing to be indoors for once. 

This aquarium was so fun. It's not as big or extensive as ones I have been to in Chicago or New Orleans, but I loved how the first half focused on our own freshwater rivers and streams with the second half having sea life. There are also several really fun interactive features that were perfect for kids. There was an amazing light show when you first arrive, a virtual train ride narrated by STL-area native John Goodman, a sand table, a stream-themed water table, pools where you could touch star fish and sting rays (the sting rays were a HUGE hit with my kids), and a craft area. We got to see some incredible animals like otters, sharks, jellyfish, and an octopus. 

The other great thing about the aquarium is that it's located at Union Station where we also got to ride a carousel and the big ferris wheel (with climate controlled cars!) and for older kids there is mini golf, a mirror maze, and a ropes course. You could easily spend a whole day there if you don't need to worry about naps.

Crafts & Activities

There are at least a thousand ocean-themed crafts and activities on Pinterest, but I kept it pretty simple this week. I'll be totally honest and say that in this, the final week of my summer fun marathon, I was pretty spent. 

Luckily, Dollar Tree had these great little ocean-themed sun-catchers for the kids to paint. My kids looooove painting anything. Probably because due to the mess I don't have them do too much painting at home. These were inexpensive, came with everything they needed, and the kids had a ton of fun doing them.

Another cheap activity the kids loved were the Jello Beach Pudding Cups we made from yet anotherAldi kit. I swear, it feels like I'm sponsored by Jello because I used no fewer than FOUR cheap and easy Jello kits this summer to meet different themes. When it comes to making things for kids, I'm all for the convenience and low price tag. 

Special Treats

This was such an easy theme to get snacks for. You can find shark and mermaid fruit snacks at almost any store that sells groceries (I actually got some at Dollar Tree) and Goldfish crackers are always a hit. 

Besides the beach pudding cups, the only other themed food I did this week was a breakfast of seashell cinnamon rolls with blueberry pearls. I'm actually pretty proud of how these turned out. One of my go-to mom moves for festive morning meals is to play with inexpensive refrigerated cinnamon rolls. You can turn them into jack-o-lanterns, Christmas trees, snails, and pretty much anything else. You can add food coloring to the icing and use special sprinkles. For this execution I shaped them like a seashell, turned the icing pink, added blue sugar sprinkles, and I dipped blueberries into white icing and sprinkled them with edible white glitter.

Entertainment

There are a million great options for ocean-themed tv and movies. Our choices this week were The Little Mermaid, Moana, Barbie's "A Mermaid Tale," Finding Nemo, and plenty of Octonauts.