If you’ve got some extra time in your trip and want a really (pardon the pun) deep experience at the National Aquarium (501 E. Pratt St., 410/576-3800, www.aqua.org), sign up in advance for one of the many immersion and extended tours.

During the day (and early in the morning), there are a series of behind-the-scenes tours that show off the labs where new residents are studied or acclimated, take you into the cafeterias where the food for the fussy eaters of the animal kingdom is prepared, and let you walk above the enormous shark tank on a thin wooden walkway, beneath which the sleek hunters glide by just inches from your feet. If that’s too wild for you, breakfast with the dolphins is a less-toothy option.

At night, there are three exciting aquarium sleepovers available for kids: just outside the shark tanks, up in the rain forest, and in the Australia: Wild Extremes wing (note that any children must be accompanied by an adult for each sleepover).