Swimming with stingrays at IMMS

Ocean Adventures opened this year at the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport. The main attractions include swimming with dolphins, stingrays, and sharks.

Everyone’s heard of swimming with dolphins, but what about swimming with stingrays and even sharks? At Ocean Adventures, it’s possible. Head Aquarist Sarah Jennings said, “They’re very social. They like interacting with the public. They really enjoy it. Some of them have different personalities so a couple of them are shy, but for the most part most of them love getting to see the public.”

You might be asking how safe is it to get in the water with stingrays, let alone sharks. “It’s definitely very safe.”

That’s because at Ocean Adventures the experience starts before you get in the water. “We have a little bit of a classroom so we talk you through it. We explain the species you’ll get to see, what you need to do while you’re in our pool. The only thing you need to bring with you is a bathing suit and a towel and we’ll take care of the rest.”

After you learn a little bit about the sea creatures it’s off to get your gear and then straight to the stingray pool. You’ll not only get to see the animals, but you have the opportunity to get in the water and even feed them if you want to. “Expect a lot of fun, expect a lot of interactive experiences at Ocean Adventures and expect to get wet if you’re hanging out with our stingrays, they splash a lot.”

About that venomous barb on the stingray: “We clip that here at Ocean Adventures. It’s made of keratin just like your hair and fingernails.”

If feeding the rays isn’t enough you can spend the rest of the time snorkeling around the pool alongside the sharks and rays. “You hang out and get to know most of our rays and then if you’re doing the swim program then you get to snorkel throughout our whole exhibit.”

If you’re interested in taking the dive the exhibit opens at noon from Thursday until Sundays. The cost to swim with the rays is $65.