Sea Life
Great Yarmouth

Situated on the seafront at Great Yarmouth, the Sea Life Centre offers indoor entertainment and education for the family, whatever the weather. This popular attraction takes you on a journey from shipwrecks, to penguins and shark tunnels to the tropical rainforest and the beautiful coral reef. In each of the 13 different themed stages of the journey, information panels educate you about the marine life that lives in that particular section. Some sections contain fish in open tanks, so you can see them swimming from above and below. The Ocean Tunnel section takes you on a walk under the ocean, full of sharks and other large fish swimming above your head! The aquarium hold regular demonstrations and feeding sessions during the day - such as feeding the penguins. Children are given a booklet and in each section of the aquarium they get their book stamped, with a prize given to fully stamped books at the end of the journey.

We start our tour of Sea Life Great Yarmouth in the first few sections of the aquarium. These are called Shipwreck, Jellyfish and the Bay of Rays. Rays are one the the most graceful and beautiful creatures in the ocean, but they have a very strong bite - so keep your hands out of the tank!

The Penguin sanctuary is home to a group of penguins that can be viewed from both indoors and by venturing outside. Penguins are only found in the Southern Hemisphere and spend most of their time swimming in the sea. They can be found on remote islands, away from predators and near ocean currents that bring lots of food. They eat small fish and here in Yarmouth, you can watch the Penguins being fed at various times during the day.

Next is a trip through the Tropical Rainforest, which amazingly is home to more than half of the Earth's plants and animals. The rain forest provides 40% of the world's oxygen and what is worrying is that large areas are being destroyed each year due to man's search for natural resources. It is estimated at the current rate of destruction, there will be none left by the middle of this century. The rain forest is home to crocodiles and you can see some as you travel through this section.

Dragon's Den highlights some of the marine creatures that have been around for many years. For example, the earliest known Terrapin dates from over 200 million years ago! This is makes it one of the oldest creatures on the planet. Terrapin is actually a name we use for a small tortoise that lives in fresh water, but there is no biological distinction between Terrapin Tortoise and Turtles! You will also discover other ancient and exotic fish.

Ocean Tunnel allows you to walk under the ocean and look up to see sharks and other large swimming creatures. The whole section is modelled on the mythical Greek city of Atlantis, complete with stone columns and stone carvings of the Gods. Atlantis famously fell of of favour with the Gods and sank under the ocean waves. You to can descend under the ocean waves and walk through the tunnel under the water and look up at the large fish swimming above you. The most prominent fish is the shark, which dates back millions of years. Despite being one the most well known predators, sharks numbers are threatened as over 70 million are caught each year for their fins.

Pirate Reef depicts the beautiful eco-system of the Coral Reef. Corals form the largest living structure on the planet, with millions of creatures depending on them for their food, homes and livelihood. Due to global warming, pollution and destructive fishing, corals are dying at an alarming rate. Is it dies, coral is bleached to a white colour. Pirate Reef allows you to view this beautiful eco system and some of its colourful residents without putting on a divers suit in some distant sea!

Nemo is a popular character from the hit Disney film 'Finding Nemo', a tale of adventure and escape from an Australian Dentist's fish tank back into the open ocean. At Sea Life Great Yarmouth, children can climb into Nemo's ocean cave and see Clown fish, just like Nemo. Parents can see their children through the cave glass, just as if they were swimming in the water with Nemo!

The final section is called Sea Stars and it shows the wonder of the Star Fish. The section is crammed full of amazing facts about starfish - such as "Starfish produce glue so their tube feet become sticky" and "Starfish can have up to 40 arms and if chased by a predator, they can drop an arm to escape and regrow it later". It is amazing to spend a few minutes studying these beautiful creatures up close at the end of your marine adventure at Sealife Great Yarmouth.

Before you leave, you may like to let your kids run wild on the indoor play area while you take a refreshment in the cafe, selling hot and cold drinks and meals. Of you may like to browse the items for sale in the well stocked gift shop.

10 Things to SEE & DO at Sea Life Great Yarmouth

Great Yarmouth

East Norfolk

Norfolk Broads

Acle

Burgh Castle

Merrivale Model Village

Norfolk Coast

Potter Heigham

Winterton on Sea