Fabulous frog exhibit at Mystic Aquarium

By Don Fowler
Posted 7/27/16

Joyce is obsessed with frogs. Their images and reproductions can be found all over our house and yard. So when Mystic Aquarium opened their new FROGS! exhibit, we just had to make the easy trip down Route 95 south to the Mystic Aquarium.

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Fabulous frog exhibit at Mystic Aquarium

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Joyce is obsessed with frogs. Their images and reproductions can be found all over our house and yard.

So when Mystic Aquarium opened their new FROGS! exhibit, we just had to make the easy trip down Route 95 south to the Mystic Aquarium.

The colorful, live exhibit is located to the left of the main entrance, just past the gift shop and Penguins Café. You first pass through the Exploration Wild! Area, where you are greeted by six-foot long American alligators. Travel through the tropical rain forest and right into the Arctic, and on to the frogs, where staff members greet you and answer questions.

Kate Wilson, who calls herself the “frog keeper,” actually has a degree in the field from URI. She is a Coventry native – and she knows her frogs.

The nocturnal frogs are a challenge to find in their natural environment. We just stood next to the children who had much better luck in finding them and pointing them out to us.

The exhibits are arranged so that the young ones can crawl under and stand right in the middle, where they could spot the colorful amphibians in a 360-degree diorama.

There are big frogs and tiny frogs, camouflaged frogs and brightly colored frogs from around the world.

The brightly colored blue frogs were the big hit, jumping around from one leaf to another. Kate told us that the colorful poison dart frogs get their poison from the ingredients in their natural habitat, losing that ability on the special diet given them at the aquarium, which includes crickets, fruit flies and beetles.

The exhibit was filled with school and camp groups who played a FROGS! Scavenger Hunt. They were given a card with pictures of nine frogs that they had to find. Kate had to help us with a couple that blended into the tree bark. The least crowded times to see the exhibit are 9-11 a.m. and after 2 p.m.

We’ve been to the aquarium many times and are always fascinated by the educational opportunities offered, with special shows and exhibits. We especially like the penguin encounter, the beluga whale exhibit, and our all-time favorite, the jellyfish, floating peaceably in the water. It is easy to spend a full day at Mystic Aquarium, with all of the exhibits, shows and demonstrations. There are plenty of shaded benches, wheelchairs for rent and cold drinks available on these hot summer days.

Tickets are $34.99 for adults, $29.99 for seniors and $24-$28 for children.

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