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When the temperatures in UAE  keep  soaring high beyond 45 degree Celsius,  you may have very few choices in hand to enjoy your  weekend or  holidays with your family and  friends.  Some of the options available are either visiting a shopping mall, swimming, participating in  any indoor event (games or entertainment) or  visiting  any good  destination like the Sharjah Aquarium, which very few people in UAE, may be aware of .  That’s what we did during one of the weekends recently.    

We visited  the Sharjah Aquarium situated  in the Al Khan  district  of Sharjah   which  is  a  home to  a  different  variety  of   marine   species  of   the world.

The outer structure and  design of this Sharjah Aquarium will remind you  of the movie "Titanic"  because it has the shape of a huge ship.  Once you enter the venue the posters remind you of photographic etiquette not to use the camera  flash because it makes the fish sick.  As you tread ahead you are then lost in the underwater world which will  leave you spellbound.   The  tunnel with a glass enclosure in the basement which is approximately 50 meter long  will leave you amazed.  It makes you feel as though you are under the sea having a close glimpse of the different creatures experiencing and admiring the beauty of ocean life.  

You are totally  lost   admiring and capturing images  of  the colorful  and diverse underwater  world that is home to a variety of marine life in and  around the UAE.  It is at this point  you will hear a lot of  Ah’s, Oh’s and Yeah’s from the crowd that is engrossed in deep admiration of natures wonder  and creation.

It has so many different  species (more than 250) and if  you  observe closely you may see   the smallest clown fish ,  lion fish, delicate sea horses,  to moray eels, rays, reef sharks  and many more colorful fish.   There are touch  screens installed in different locations that give you an insight and  information about the fish, their lives and their habitats, and the different type of species that are seen in the aquarium.  They are basically classified into 5  different categories based on their shapes, viz.,  Horizontally  Flattened, Long and thin, Typical, Vertically Flattened and other fish. 

The aquarium was inaugurated June 6th  2008 by Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qassimi  UAE’s Supreme Council member and ruler of Sharjah.  It has been built with  British and local collaboration.  The extension area is  still under construction and will hold  many more bigger varieties  of the  ocean world. Once complete it will be known as the "Maritime Museum". 

The Entry Fee for Adults is AED 20 and for children between the age group of  6 -15 is AED 10.  Children below 5 years entry is  free.  There are special packages for families and groups. A family of 2 adults and 3 children pay AED 50.   An adult group of 6 or more persons can enter paying AED 15 per head and  children group can enter paying AED 5 per head.   It is open only four days of the week from Wednesday to Saturday  and is closed on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.  The timings are as follows:
Wednesday (for families only)  : 4:00 pm – 7.30 pm
 
Thursday : 9:00 am - 7:30 pm
 Friday : 3:00 pm - 8:00pm
Saturday : 9:00 am  - 8:00pm

For more information visit: www.sharjahmuseums.ae 

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