As with the other members of the SEA LIFE chain, SEA LIFE Kansas City can be found in a mall (in this case the Crown Center of downtown Kansas City) in association with a Legoland. The aquariums tend to be fairly formulaic (the exhibits all tend to be the same, with the exception of a few local touches, though the order differs from location to location), and the Kansas City facility is no exception. After entering, visitors pass through a shoaling ring, where the stand in the center as schooling fish swirl around them. After that, a series of exhibits takes them into progressively deep and deeper water, further from shore.
It starts out with a small gallery of freshwater fish, then moves on to an rockpool touch tank, full of coastal marine invertebrates. Next come the Harbor and Shipwreck, before finally coming to what is the highlight of every SEA LIFE, the Ocean Tunnel. Here, visitors walk through an acrylic tunnel while small sharks and rays cruise overhead. A few more modest tank displays - jellyfish, sea horses, the inevitable giant Pacific octopus - and voila, exit through the gift shop.
Okay, I acknowledge, compared even to my reviews of the Michigan and Arizona facilities, this one really feels like I'm phoning it in. And I am. It wasn't until I walked out the door (and couldn't get back in) that I realized that I didn't have any pictures. I guess I just felt that I didn't need them. I felt like I'd been there before - even before I stepped inside.
SEA LIFE aquariums are great for families looking for a small outing with the kids, something manageable and not too crowded, and these folks are presumably not making a hobby of checking off the public aquariums of the country. To them it won't matter that the branches are all just about the same (though the weedy sea dragon display here was a nice touch that not all of the others share) - because they aren't going to go to any other others. SEA LIFE thrives by filling the niche of offering a small aquarium experience in cities that, for one reason or another, lack a public aquarium, leaving the niche unexploited. They have the basic animals that most visitors want to see - octopus, jellyfish, sea horse, sea turtles, sharks, and a touch tank - and if they lack penguins or marine mammals, well, that just makes it easier for them to fit into a shopping mall, where they can be readily accessed.
Unfortunately, SEA LIFE might run into trouble down the road, a victim of its own success. Unlike zoos, new aquariums are popping up with great frequency around the country - including in cities that were once the exclusive domain of SEA LIFE. The Arizona facility is now a short-drive away from OdySea. Detroit is looking to open a new aquarium. The Kansas City Zoo is currently constructing a major aquarium, which will dwarf the Crown Center attraction. Will SEA LIFE still be able to prosper in an increasingly crowded field? Or do its aquariums just serve as placeholders, piquing the community's interest until something bigger and more spectacular comes in? Time will tell...
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