The Scientific Center

Recently the kids and I went and explored The Scientific Center Aquarium here in Kuwait. 

Seriously, how cute are my adventure buddies?

An empty parking lot! 

When I posted some of these pics on Facebook, a handful of people commented about how it appeared we had the place to ourselves...and we totally did. We only saw about eight other people there - outside of staff- the entire day. 

I've learned that most places in Kuwait are not busy during the week (Sun-Thur) in the morning and early afternoon. A LOT of places close from 1pm-5pm, and then reopen from 5pm-midnight (or later). In the evenings, everywhere is busy. I went grocery shopping after 8pm one evening and the place was packed. It's busy everywhere on the weekends too. We took a family trip to IKEA on Friday last week and it was so jam-packed I practically needed a paper bag to breathe into to stay calm. 

After taking in the lovely views from the parking lot, we made our way inside. The Scientific Center houses an Aquarium, and a Discovery Place,  an IMAX and Dhow Harbor. 

Since it was our first time visiting, to spare us over stimulation (and overspending), we just did the Aquarium and Dhow Harbor. 

Our little Ham...

Okay, so you can't really see this well, even if you click on the pic to enlarge it, but there was an animal in there, I swear...

Each animal station had a little informational computer next to it, right at kid level, offering both Arabic and English instructions. Pretty darn cool. 

A freaky owl...

Each of the informational computers had little games the children could play to teach them more about that particular animal...what kind of habitat it normally lived in, what it ate, etc. 

These Kangaroo Rats were so stinkin' adorable I wanted to take one home. Seriously, they were so cute hopping around! We couldn't get a good picture, because they move so quickly. They have large bodies and these tiny, long legs...it seems to defy physics that they can maneuver so fast! I could have watched them hop/run around their little pen for hours. 

Our son is SUPER into snakes right now, and was thrilled to learn about this two-horned viper...

And these two snakes cuddled up together...

I let him have my phone to take pictures, and he took probably 8,240 pictures of these snakes alone. I'll spare you the entire camera roll, and just leave you with those two pics =). 

Turtles...

Iguanas...

Although everything was indoors, they did a great job of making you feel like you were really out in the middle of nature...

Penguins!

A creepy, disturbing eel...

Here we read all about why fish swim in schools...

Our sweet boy insisted I take a picture of this to show Daddy later... =)

We read up on sharks and sting rays...

...and then saw sharks and sting rays!

I LOVE this picture...our little daughter staring up in awe of the giant shark above her...

We checked out the outside of the Discovery Place, and decided we will definitely be back to explore in there soon!

We made our way outside to see what Dhow Harbor was all about...

"Momma! Take a picture of the ocean!" 
=)

After a fun afternoon exploring, we stopped at an Applebees along the boardwalk for a good ol' American dinner =)

My cuties waiting for a cab ride home =)

It made for a really fun day, and the kids were excited they got to see and learn about so many different animals...and truth be told, so was I! I didn't know what to expect heading there, but I was really impressed. We'll be back for sure =).