Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center351

The Aquarium is a great place to visit once. For the amount of money you spend, seeing the fish and large turtles, petting the sting-rays, and exploring the learning areas can be interesting for kids and adults alike. You can take a walk on a nice day between the buildings (there are two), to look at their outdoor pond/lake/river thing, and try to glimpse a bird or read up on the types of foilage that grow here in VA. (Might not want to do that on a hot day, its about a 10 min. stroll with your toddler in toe, if you don't stop to look at stuff between the buildings.)

As I was saying, the amount of money you spend for tickets does not represent the amount you get to see. Furthermore, after the first time you've been there, you really could just go to the local pet store with your toddler and look at he fish there...for free. Everyone tries to take pictures of the large turtles swimming in the tank and fish and whatnot, only to get blurred images and their flash reflecting off the glass. Your kids will enjoy it once, and move on.

The areas where you can learn stuff are not really interesting for those 3 and under. Except the small "submarine" that you can walk into, look through the portholes at fish, and then walk out of. If you have kids in the preteen or young teen years, they might enjoy the educational exhibits more than a toddler.

This place is ALWAYS packed with tourists and families. Plan on waiting in line for your tickets for a very long time. Plan on being in cramped spaces with lots of people trying to look at the same thing you're looking at. Plan on trying to get your stroller through a winding pathway filled with others. Plan on everyone driving through the parking lot looking for a parking space that isn't forever away from the entrance.