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Aquarium Trip & Animal Habitats Sorting Mats

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One of our favorite places to visit on field trips is our local aquarium, the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium. We got to visit there again this week and were lucky enough to receive a family pass so that we would hare our experience here!  I also created some fun animal habitats sorting mats to expand our learning experience.  (This is a sponsored post in behalf of Loveland Living Planet Aquarium and Mom It Forward. We receive a free family pass and I am being compensated for my time in writing this post. All thoughts are my own.) 

The aquarium is a fabulous place to visit, and one of the most exciting parts about it is that it is not all just ocean animals. It explores all different regions and habitats!  I love how they have set it up as an experience that all will enjoy and learn from. We made a video of our day there! Check it out.

 

And, here is a little glimpse of the habitat mats I made. More on them at the end of the post!Animal Habitats sorting mats for kids

At the aquarium, there is a rainforest area that has fish, snakes, turtles, tropical birds and even poison dart frogs and insects!

Loveland Living Planet Aquarium

There is a local Utah section that highlights animals native to Utah. It has otters (our favorite), fish, snakes, and turtles that live here.

There is a polar region highlighting penguins. There you can watch them swim, but can also learn about the different varieties of penguins. This part is another favorite of ours!

penguins at aquarium

There is an Asia region with all kinds of amazing animals, fish, birds and even a leopard!

Animal Habitats for Kids

They also have a Binturong,  also called the bear cat, that lives natively in Southern Asia. This was new to us!

Binturong - Asian Animal at the aquarium

Then there is an ocean region. You can touch starfish and stingrays, you can see all different kinds of amazing ocean creatures. This part is truly spectacular! You walk through a tunnel surrounded by swimming creatures- fish, sharks, turtles, and more! The it ends in a large room where the entire wall is the aquarium and you can watch the largest of the ocean animals swimming around.

At the end of it all, there is a full-service cafe with delicious foods (to meet many dietary needs) and a fun gift shop, too!

Learn more about the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium.

This is a perfect Spring Break activity, Summer or any time you need a great field trip.  The Aquarium is open daily 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and open until 8:00 p.m. on Monday nights. They also have a FAMILY Night on Mondays where you can take $5 off each ticket. 

Utah Aquarium

Since there are so many different habitats there, I thought it would be great to explore them further with my kids. I created this printable habitat sorting mat set that kids can play with and learn about where different animals live around the world.

learning animal habitats

This printable set is so much fun! It has 7 different full-size habitats: Polar, Savannah, Wetlands, Ocean, Desert, Jungle, & Forest. Each set also includes 12 or more animals that live in that habitat.

Animal Habitats Sorting and Play Mats

There is a lot of cutting involved, so your kids can help with the animals. Mine loved being involved in the prep work. Then, once the animals were all cut, we mixed them up and let the kids sort according to where the animals live. Some animals will overlap in different habitats.

forest habitat sorting mat

Want a FABULOUS book to learn Animal Habitats?  Check out Crinkleroots Guide to Knowing Animal Habitats by Jim Arnosky. We absolutely love these Crinkleroots books.

Want to Download the Animal Habitats Sorting Mats?

Did you know you can get access to ALL of my printables in my Membership Site?  They are also all listed on TPT if you prefer buying that way.

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