Sea Monsters, Living Fossils and The Deep Blue Sea

We've not quite gotten around to bringing Ewan and Faye to the S.E.A Aquarium because whenever we tried, Ewan would freak out at the entrance. There is something about that (literally) larger than life junk boat, with a talking head at its bow, that frightens the boy. It speaks with a bellowing voice and he wasn't going anywhere near it. 

Well, he is a braver three year old now and we would really like to bring the children for an underwater experience. We've been to Ocean by Cat Cora several times and he could relate to those Manta Rays that "dined' with us over our dinners. A special mention to meet Sea Horses got him all hyped up for this visit! Yay Hey! However, it wasn't in my agenda to tell him that our primary visit was for the Sea Monsters: Past and Present exhibition that S.E.A. Aquarium is currently showcasing. I wasn't sure what to expect and prehistoric reptiles in the deep blue sound somewhat frightening. But when I saw a long neck towering above everyone in the far horizon at S.E.A. Aquarium, I was totally relieved. 

I pointed out at a pitch higher than my usual, "Hey Ewan! Look at that Ultrasaurus!" 

"Where Mommy? Where!", he exclaimed. 

Ewan has been learning about dinosaurs and can now name his Tyrannosaurus Rexes, Stegosauruses, Triceratopses and Ultrasauruses. So upon seeing that long-necked creature that looked like an Ultrasaurus, I knew there shouldn't be much resistance going through the Sea Monsters: Past and Present exhibition. At least, he saw a "friend"!

Now that's no Ultrasaurus. It is called a Plesiosaur (Play-Zee-Oh-Saur) and it means "nearly lizard". It isn't a dinosaur! It is an aquatic warm-blooded reptile which gave birth to live younglings and lived in the Jurassic Period in the era when dinosaurs such as Diplodocus, Allosaurus and Stegosaurus also lived. Ahhhhhh! Now we can so relate. It had necks that could reach seven metres long and owned a broad flay body with a short tail. Without seeing the body and just its very long neck, I thought it was the Ultrasaurus that we all know so well from Dinosaur Encyclopaedias. 

It is funny how dinosaur fact learning for children centers around land fossilised reptiles but conveniently exclude those that ruled the sea. If not for Sea Monsters: Past and Present, I wouldn't have known about Plesiosaur, Megalodon or Ichthyosaur! I loved this eye-opening experience that fed our knowledge bank onto another level but not exactly the size of the showcase. We felt more like "This Was It?"

It could be bigger, better and bolder! The main hall features prehistorical sea monsters in display sculptures but too little information are provided on each of them. I wished I knew more about the Plesiosaur and Megalodon at the showcase rather than having to read all about it online when we got home. That said, there is some interactivity at the exhibition with this razor sharp jaws of Megalodon!

Walk into a room and you will find living fossil survivors in tanks. A living fossil is an organism that has retained the same form over millions of years and has few or no living relatives. Did you know that Salamander, Horseshoe Crab and Arowana are among those in showcase? This means that they have not changed significantly in its physical form since the Triassic or Jurassic period! You can safely say that these are prehistoric creatures that are living in our time right now! How interesting? Here's sharing The Loving Mum's take on an Axolotl and Singapore Mom Blogs' take on a Mudskipper. Read more about this Living Fossils here.

Axolotl photographed by Claudia (IG @claudia10)

Mudskipper photographed by Irene (IG @smomblogs)

I have to introduce to you the Coelacanth (see-lah-canth). It was once known only from fossils and were thought to have gone extinct approximately 65 million years ago. However, the first living Coelacanth was discovered in 1938! It just seems surreal that we have living species in our current seas after millions of years. Oh and my little land munsters are blending in quite well with the programme don't you think?

 

We were invited to join a parent-and-child game show with DJs Tim Oh and Simone Heng from Class 95 that afternoon. My son decided to be a minion and gave "Bah Bah Bah" as answers to "What is your name?" and "How old are you?". Ewan! Ya you boy! If you are reading this now, you actually told Simone that your name was, "BLAH!" I do not know why but you never like to strike up a proper conversation whenever you are in the limelight. You'd laugh, make a distorted face or say something that no one can ever comprehend. You leave people dumbfounded but Simone found you terribly adorable while I get embarrassed by my gibberish blabbering boy.

Maybe I should have put him in a yellow work suit (like a minion). Anyhoos, we went on our photo hunt mission to find two sea creatures in hope to win an annual S.E.A. Aquarium pass. Two clues were given and upon reading them, I HAD NO CLUE which sea monsters we were suppose to photograph! The other two teams returned very quickly with their answers and where were we? We were still standing there, figuring out where to go! It must have been an amusing sight, this pair of lost-looking parent-and-child? *hahah*

 

Off we went into the S.E.A Aquarium. Ewan and Faye both went, "Wah!" as we stepped into the glass tunnel. They couldn't stop pointing and neither could we. We could sit and fish-watched a lot longer than just walked past if only it wasn't that crowded. I enjoyed watching my children getting impressed by their favourite tanks of sea animals. Faye was mesmerised by the Saltwater and Marine Fishes because they move very swiftly and are coated with very bright colours on their bodies - Clown Fish (Nemo), Blue Tang (Dory), Anthias and Angel Fish were among those that took her breath away. She refused to budge from that tank! With Ewan, the Jellyfish blobbing up and down did it for him. It was so therapeutic, he got lost in himself watching them.

 

 

 

I cannot wait to bring them back to S.E.A Aquarium again but at the next visit, we will choose a weekday where it is less crowded and try to fit into feeding times to view how the aquarists hand feed the sharks and rays!

Feeding Schedule (Mon to Fri):
- 1000 hours Shipwreck Habitat
- 1500 hours Open Ocean Habitat
- 1630 hours Shark Seas Habitat

Feeding Schedule (Daily):
- 1100 hours Coral Garden Habitat
- 1500 hours Sea Dragons Habitat
- 1600 hours Mangrove Habitat

The more I write and the more I research about these sea creatures, the more intrigued I got. We are sure to dig up more information on underwater critters to feed our growing brain! I am glad I've learnt a lot more than ever from this visit.

The Sea Monsters: Past and Present programme will run from now until 30 September 2015. The S.E.A Aquarium entry ticket will see bring you to this exhibition as well. If you didn't already know, the aquarium as 1-for-1 Tuesday adult tickets available for purchase here. Children below the age of 4 is free.

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A stay at home mum, blogging to widen her social life. We want to echo the sound of love through our lives to inspire other mothers alike.