Disclaimer: My family was provided free admission to the Greater Cleveland Aquarium to meet Scuba Claus and share our experience.

We recently checked out the Greater Cleveland Aquarium and met Scuba Claus for the first time! And let me just say, we are ‘hooked’ on the experience! While it seems a bit fish-y to see him underwater, he is one of the kindest Santa’s we’ve ever met! My child found it hilarious that Santa was swimming with the sharks in the tank!

About the Scuba Claus Event:

The Greater Cleveland Aquarium is located in the FirstEnergy Powerhouse building in the flats district of Cleveland.

Upon arrival at the aquarium for the Scuba Claus event, we walked through the entire aquarium first! Scuba Claus is located at the end of the aquarium in the Shark Gallery and Sea Tube.

If you have never been to the aquarium, you are in for a special treat! The aquatic life is absolutely gorgeous and plentiful at more than 1400 freshwater and saltwater animals from Lake Erie and across the globe. The tank set up creates a warm and fun experience. The main exhibits in the aquarium are:

• Ohio Lakes & Rivers
• Asia & Indonesia
• Tropical Forest
• Industry & Habitat
• Giant Pacific Octopus
• Coastal Boardwalk
• Tropical Reef
• Shark Gallery & SeaTube

Each exhibit showcases a diverse range of aquatic creatures, offering plenty of opportunities to observe and learn about marine life. We really enjoyed walking through the exhibits at our own pace.

Highlights From Our Visit:

Ohio Lakes & Rivers:

We loved seeing the Ohio Lakes & Rivers aquatic life! The marine life included catfish and turtles. We also observed several other aquatic animals that we had never seen before or knew lived in the water systems around us. The area also highlighted the dangers of pollution in our water systems and what is being done locally to clean it up.

Asia & Indonesia:

In the Asia and Indonesia area, we were totally engulfed on the giant pink gourami! He enjoyed checking us out as we walked around the tank. In previous trips, we’ve seen this fish fed and it was such a treat to watch! The poison dart frogs in the Tropical Forest area were a favorite as they were very active jumping around and even walking and jumping up the tank glass!

Coastal Boardwalk:

One of our favorite areas was the Coastal Boardwalk where we were given the rare opportunity to feed the ‘smiling’ stingrays. When you catch a glimpse of the underside of these animals, they literally look like they are smiling.

The Shark Gallery & Scuba Claus:

Shark Gallery & SeaTube:

The last area in the aquarium to explore is the Shark Gallery & SeaTube. This area holds 230,000 gallons of water and is filled with a few different shark species, stingrays, eels, and several varieties of fish! This is where we met up with Scuba Claus.

Scuba Claus:

The Greater Cleveland Aquarium Scuba Claus spoke to us from the water, and we could ask him questions like what his elf’s name was and why he had an elf in the water with him – it’s for safety in case you were curious! Scuba Claus was the kindest, friendliest Santa we’ve met. We thoroughly enjoyed our experience.

He and his elf also patiently posed for several photos with us. He was patient, kind and we walked away with some really fun images.

Giveaway Time:

I partnered up with the Greater Cleveland Aquarium to offer a giveaway. The winner will have the option to choose from:

• 4 free admission tickets for Scuba Claus Meet and Greets OR
• 6 free general admission tickets good for one year to the aquarium!

Here’s how you can enter:

There are multiple ways to enter and you can choose how many you wish to do.  To enter for the chance to win this GIVEAWAY, you can do any or all of the following below:

1) Leave a comment on my blog telling me what you look forward to checking out at the Greater Cleveland Aquarium during your next visit? (1 point)

2) Sign up to ‘Follow blog via email’ AND leave me a comment below once you sign up!  If you’re already following via EMAIL, then let me know in the comments.  (1 point)

3) Visit Momgineering the Future and the Greater Cleveland Aquarium Facebook pages and comment below once you’ve visited both pages or comment on my Facebook post! (1 point) 

4) Visit Momgineering the Future and the Greater Cleveland Aquarium on YouTube and click subscribe. Leave a comment here letting me know you did. (1 point)

5) Visit Momgineering the Future Pinterest page and click Follow. Leave a comment here letting me know you did. (1 point)

6) Visit my Instagram page @momgineering_the_future and follow the rules for more entries. (Unlimited entries)

7)  Follow @Momgineering and @cleaquarium on Twitter and comment here that you’re following both. (1 point)

8) Tweet the following phrase and leave a comment here letting me know you tweeted:

I want to win 4 general admission tickets to the @cleaquarium thanks to @Momgineering #giveaway https://bit.ly/3P0doSU

You can tweet once per day for extra entries, just leave a separate comment on this blog post each time you tweet. (1 point each)

This giveaway will close at 11:59PM on December 9, 2022.  The winner will be notified the following day. The winner will have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.  In order to claim your tickets, you will need to provide contact information such as name, email address, or / and mailing address.

Are you looking for more STEAM experiences for your family? Read all about ours here!

Happy holidays & good luck!

Kristen