Fun for the Whole Family
Daily Sitka Sentinel, James Poulson
THERE ARE MANY PLACES IN SITKA where you can make heartfelt memories with your children, and experience the island with a sense of childlike awe and wonder.
Sitka’ s community playground is the perfect outdoor spot for kids to play in a fun, safe, and creative space. With a miniature lighthouse and climbable octopus and salmon sculptures, the playground provides multiple areas for different age groups: perfect for 3 to 5-year-olds and for ages 6 and up. Located on Sitka’ s waterfront Sea Walk, parents can relax on the playground benches and take in the gorgeous ocean and mountain views while their kids enjoy the park. You can even pack a picnic for the family to eat alongside the Sea Walk or on the campus of the nearby Sitka Fine Arts Camp.
Just a short walk away from the playground, the Sitka Sound Science Center is a must-see for any traveling family. Their touch tank is the one place where parents do not need to use the phrase,‘ Don’ t touch that!’ Home to urchins, sea anemones, and a variety of starfish, the touch tank allows adults and children alike to experience the vibrant colors and textures of Sitka’ s aquatic critters right at their fingertips. array of deep-water fish and invertebrates. Interactive digital exhibitions and mounted aquatic habitats will teach you everything you need to know about marine life in Southeast Alaska. Ask about the Junior Naturalist program for your little one, so they can earn their very own badge!
The Sitka Sound Science Center also operates the Sheldon Jackson Hatchery, which raises 250,000 silver, 3 million pink, and 12 million chum every year. Tour the hatchery with your kids and learn about the life cycle of salmon and the importance of hatcheries in Alaska. If you visit in late summer months and early fall, you’ ll witness the salmon run: hundreds of salmon thrashing in the water as they return to the hatchery from the open ocean.
Of course, at the end of a long day, there’ s no better place to take your children than to one of Sitka’ s many beaches; you never know what colorful creatures you’ ll see swimming in the tide pools.
Additional exhibits in the Center include a Salmon Bubble where visitors can observe the underwater world of juvenile salmon. Don’ t miss the killer whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling or the 800-gallon saltwater aquarium that houses an
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Alaska Raptor Center alaskaraptor. org / Fortress of the Bear fortressofthebear. org / Sitka Sound Science Center sitkascience. org
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