lebaran holiday july 2019 - S.E.A aquarium and the maritime experiential museum

we were staying in singapore for a week for lebaran holiday, so i was running out of option about where to go. kids would just opt to go to pororo park, but we were (read: me) the ones that get bored going to the same place over and over. even all my friends asked me about pororo park everytime they were going to singapore with their kids. they were curious what is so special about pororo park that make my kids always want to go back there. anyway.. long story short, i thought it was a good idea to bring the kids to aquarium. last time we went there, it was only our first son that came along. it was still new so maybe right now there are some improvements. plus two kids that haven't been there is a good excuse to go there. at first i only wanted to see the aquarium, but my husband was in charge to buy the ticket. i don't know what changed his mind, but he ended up buying the joint ticket, the museum and sea aquarium. we brought along our nephew which was just baby and my parents so i would review it for small baby, kids and elder people.

one of the display in the museum

where to find: both sea aquarium and the maritime experiential museum are located in resort world sentosa. it was in the same area as universal studio. so from the center of the area you could find direction to go to the aquarium. the museum and aquarium are indoors, but the ticket booth is outside so if it is rainy, it would be a trouble to queue for the ticket. you could buy the ticket online or via klook or traveloka i guess.. but i can't say for sure since we didn't buy via third party mainly because we didn't have fix schedule.

this is the description from resort world website:
SEA aquarium - enter and explore the marine realm of SEA aquarium, home to more than 100.000 marine animals of over 1000 species across 50 different habitats, each one as fascinating as the next. it's a marine life experience you won't forget.
the maritime experiential museum - come explore the seas. go explore the world. relive the glorious conquest of the seas, as you return to the maritime silk route of eras past. be transported through time in 15 thematic galleries, journey in the tailwinds of renowned seafarers, and even flee pirate invaders aboard a burning ship.

since we bought the combination ticket, we went to the museum first then proceed to the aquarium. the entrance of the museum is near the ticket booth, and the aquarium is one floor below, so i don't know where to go if you only bought the aquarium ticket. everything is indoor and the walking space is pretty spacious so you can bring your stroller with you. however, there are some stairs, but they provide elevator for older people, disable people and people with stroller. at first you would see the replica of ships from long time ago, and there are some rope display. you can try to do the knots looking at the picture. there is some information video as well, but it was pretty long so we didn't stop to listen them all.

touching pool

the displays are well made and very clean. all the demonstration units are working well too. the videos work well as well. but during the pirate part, it was supposed to be scary and surprising, but it was dark enough so it wasn't that scary. kids love to see the videos, animation and touching the interactive display, though they didn't understand most of it. but it was a good place to show them the history of maritime life. they also put several famous maritime heroes story, so it would be a good place to learn some history as well.

then after we went down, we entered the aquarium. kids were excited to see all the fish. it was more crowded in the aquarium section, but still manageable even though you bring stroller. there's no seat or rest area in the museum but it wasn't that big, but if you bring older people with walking disabilities, it could be tiresome for them. as for the aquarium, i saw many people sit on the rim of the tank. especially in front of the big aquarium tank there are layers of sitting podium that people used to sit and take some rest. there's a vending machine and restaurant nearby, but it was pretty expensive restaurant. most people just sit in front of the tank and eat snack and drink.

i don't remember about the toilet in the museum but there's one near the big tank display. and it was very crowded. apparently, the placing of the toilet is on the spot with the timing people got the urge to go to toilet since entering the museum all the way through the aquarium. there's feeding show but when we were there, the timing was not right. we didn't see any feedings, but we did see the diver danced with the stingray and the kids loved it. there's also a touch pool but you can only touch the seastar and sea cucumber. kids love it and it was super organized since there were several staff watched the kids lined up and got in order to touch and then left the area. what i don't like is the amount of tissue trash. there's a washbasin near the touch pool so people can wash their hands before and after touching the creatures. but they provided tissue paper to dry their hands, and the amount of trash that i saw was a lot. it was a gigantic trash bag full of trash. i wish they change into electronic hair dryer or just towel. i think the one in osaka didn't provide tissue.

it took us about 1,5 hours inside and we got out just in time for lunch. let me remind you that we walk in very slow pace as we brought along a baby, 3 kids, and my mom had problem with her knees as well so we made a lot of stops. so it would finish quicker or probably longer if you made a lot of stops as well. will we be back? probably we won't since once is enough for us. but it's a good option since the kids can't enjoy the universal studio yet and one of my kids still can't enjoy kidzania.

anyway.. it is a good option for rainy day since it's indoor. you might get some shower while you were outside, but once you're inside the aquarium and the museum, you'll safe. kids from all age can enjoy it, but probably age 1-6 would appreciate it more. bigger kids might enjoy the museum more as they probably learn about history for a bit, but they might not enjoy the aquarium as much. for us, it's a good place as i have 3 kids ranging from 3-6 years old, so my oldest enjoyed the museum more as he is more curious and he could read stuff, and his brother and sister enjoyed the aquarium more since they couldn't read yet so they only see the display at the museum while they could see the fish and do some interactive in the aquarium.