This comprehensive museum in the middle of land-locked Oklahoma is one of the few aquariums in the world where you and your children can see and learn about bull sharks. There are 14 in captivity here, which become a focal point of events during the annual Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. If you’re really into sharks, ask about the “Sleep With the Sharks” program. Note that sharks are fed just twice a week on Monday and Thursday afternoons, but otherwise they are still very visible all of the time.

Otherwise, kids usually love the lively pair of river otters that splash around the Ozarks exhibit or climbing up in the middle of the swamps of the Amazon Rain Forest. Even the smallest of your children will appreciate and learn from the touch tanks of starfish and feeding the stingrays.

Watch the websites for a variety of discounts during the winter months, the least busy time of the year to visit the aquarium.