My Little One just turned 7 years old! Where does time fly?!
I really wanted to make her 7th birthday one to remember and one place very special popped into my mind right away. The Vancouver Aquarium offers amazing birthday parties and so far I have not found another party that compares.
What Your Party Includes
In addition to the birthday child receiving a certificate to the Gift Shop to purchase a gift of their choice, you and your guests will receive:
All day admission for all party guests to the Aquarium
A fully decorated private party room
A chocolate or vanilla cake
Fruit punch, coffee and tea
A visit to our interactive Wet LabNotes: No outside food is permitted. Child must be age 6 or older to participate in the Splash of a Birthday.
Who You’ll Meet
You’ll touch marine invertebrates like squishy sea cucumbers, sticky anemones and prickly sea urchins in our Wet Lab before meeting an Aquarist behind the scenes for a visit through our secretive Jellyfish hallway. As an added bonus, the birthday child will be named an Honorary Aquarist and will get to feed our fish in the two-story Strait of Georgia Pacific Canada Pavilion, one of the Aquarium’s largest exhibits.
The start of your Vancouver Aquarium party begins with everyone meeting in a designated area. When you register for your birthday party, your receive a map that you can provide to your guests. You also receive invitations that you can print and give to your guests.
The party starts right on time, so you want to make sure to tell your guests to be there 10 minutes early. Any late comers will be brought in by Aquarium staff or volunteers, but you really get into the party quickly and late comers will miss out on some cool things.
First you are escorted to your nicely decorated party room. You can hang your jackets, put presents, goodie bags and anything else you have in the party room. Each party goer receives a Vancouver Aquarium lanyard to help the party leaders keep track of who is in the party.
Our party was comprised of 15 6 and 7 year old kids with 4 adults. The Aquarium provided two party leaders and I have to tell you the the party leaders we had were absolutely amazing. They were great with the kids and kept the kids so interested in what they were doing. It was pretty clear to see that the leaders were interested in the Aquarium life and their passion was put through into everything that they were explaining.
Once a few things have been seen that are right in the party room, the next phase is to venture off into the back areas of the Aquarium that you do not get to see as a normal visitor. The party goers get a chance to touch a few creatures and get to learn a lot about them. The birthday girl had an opportunity in the wet lab to feed a small creature.
In the wet lab, the party was divided into two groups which worked great. There was enough room around the wet lab displays for everyone to see. Remember to ask for a little stool for the shorter guests as they have a couple that you can use.
After the wet lab, the birthday girl and one parent will be given life jackets. The Aquarium doesn’t want to see you go for a swim during the next event, but just in case you do, safety first.
Getting a chance to feed the fish is an amazing experience. It was definitely a highlight of the entire event.
After the feeding, the group leaders took the kids to a few of the birthday girl’s favorite areas of the aquarium. For my Little One, that meant that we visited the sea otters, belugas
and of course the penguins.
After visiting a few of the Birthday Girl’s favorites, the group gets to venture through the jelly fish labs. It is amazing and you get to see so many different jelly fish. There were jelly fish that were large, jelly fish that were sooooo tiny and my personal favorite….jelly fish with purple on them. It was awesome.
After the walk down their jelly fish lane, that I best mention is a lab in part of the Aquarium that you do not normally get to see as a guest, you are brought back to the party room. Time for cake!
The Aquarium provides the birthday cake as part of the package. The theme is picked out upon registration of your party from choices of beluga, dolphin, penguin or shark. My Little One loves penguins so that was the theme of her cake. Even candles, plates, cups, and drinks are provided by the Aquarium so no need to bring a thing. There is also coffee and tea for the adults in the party.
Birthday Cake Details
We are pleased to have our birthday party cakes made exclusively by Canada Safeway on Robson Street in Vancouver.
Choose from a chocolate or vanilla cake with a barvarian cream
Choose a birthday cake theme: beluga whale, dolphin, penguin or shark
Customized cake printing is available for an additional fee
When the cake is all done, your party is over. Every party goer receives a stamp on their hand so that they can stay and visit the Aquarium after the party.
As part of the birthday party package, the birthday girl received a $10 gift certificate to go shop at the Aquarium store, so we went off shopping once the cake was done and the guests had departed.
One thing that I want to point out is that the cost of the party at the Aquarium is really in line with other type of parties and I feel that you get way more in the Aquarium party.
Availability And Pricing
Availability:We offer a “Splash of a Birthday” four times over the weekend only. Parties can be booked for 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. party on Saturday and Sunday. The maximum number of participants for each party is up to 16 kids, as well as up to 4 adults.
Pricing:
$475 Non-Members
$380 Members
Prices are tax inclusive.
Consider all that you get included in the price quoted above:
*2 hour guided party
*Behind the Scene experiences
*Cake
*Candles
*Beverages
*Decorated party room
*$10 gift certificate for the Aquarium store
*Aquarium lanyards for all your guests to keep
*Up to 16 children and 4 adults in your party all for one price
*An experience of a lifetime and a party to be remembered
*All guests can visit the Aquarium after the party at no cost
By the time I compared the cost of a party at the Aquarium versus at another venue where on top of the cost I would have had to purchase a cake, decorations, candles, plates, and cups, the cost worked out to be a really great deal at the Aquarium. Additionally, most other parties only allow for 10-12 guests and I loved that I could invite up to 16 kids and 4 adults all for the same price. Allowing such a large group makes the cost per person quite good, especially considering everything that is included in the party package and the experiences that you get to have.
To book your party or receive more information, contact us Monday through Friday, between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Phone: 604-659-3504
Email: programs@vanaqua.orgCancellation Policy: Cancellations made after seven days from booking date will be subject to a 50 percent cancellation fee. A 25 percent re-booking fee will apply if you change the date of your party within two weeks of the party date. Missed programs will not be refunded or rescheduled.
If you have any additional questions, please make sure to check out the Vancouver Aquarium Birthday Party FAQ page.
Disclosure: MomMomOnTheGo was provided product and/or services in exchange for conducting this review. As always MomMomOnTheGo only supports companies and products that she loves.