Lots to sea

Coastal and Marine Biodiversity Centre Airoli Indoors and OutdoorsRight after our earlier Discover Juhu expedition we find ourselves driving all the way to Airoli to the Coastal and Marine Biodiversity Centre CMBC A midday reader sends a message and a link and it is enough for me to take a morethanonehour drive on the weekend with teenagers who no longer follow me trustingly nowadays I use threats as a starter After five years of reviewing spaces for children in Mumbai I wait with bated breath for a new place to savourWe reach Google Maps ki jai ho a place with armylike security The building is quiet the surroundings are velvety green and a sullen person asks us to buy tickets From there we are directed to the audiovisual centre where a film is being screened about coastal and marine biodiversity We are still unimpressed So we step out of the AV centre and reexamine the placeCMBC we are informed at the doorway itself has been implemented by the the state governments Mangrove Cell and The Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit Federal Ministry for the Environment Nature Conservation Building and Nuclear Safety of the Federal Republic of Germany But then I see a Jengalike installation before the audiovisual room The message below is good enough for goosebumps All Life is InterdependentThe kids check out the taxidermied flamingosA wall framing thats part of the installation contains a quote by Jacques Yves Cousteau 1910 to 1997 who I learn was a French explorer and marine conservationist photographer and author who gave birth to the word scuba an acronym for selfcontained underwater breathing apparatus a gadget he codeveloped His quote reads Never too late to learn and be in aweEach room at the centre contains a wealth of information meant for children to read interact with be curious about and explore There are portholes that can be flipped for information speakers that mimic the call of marine creatures when pressed and looking glasses that can be peered into and spun around for more data There are also large tabletops that are made for todays techsavvy generation of children habituated to enlarging images with their fingertipsThe kids refuse to budge from these tables thrilled that they can with a flick of their fingers choose a language you can opt for Hindi Marathi or English and access information expanding the beautiful hires images to up to a 6 ft in width The display rooms have taxidermied turtles and flamingos and the kids find it hard to believe that there are 7ft long turtles in the marine world until they stand against the turtle chartThere is merchandise to pick up as well but we hurry out to look at the open pool outside that houses koi fish and a couple of sharks The boardwalk is stunning and both my teenagers find themselves unwinding as they walk in the open with the rain beating down on them After the monsoon this is the place I am definitely returning to because a boat ride from here will take us across 1690 hectares of mangroves and mudflats between the Vashi and Airoli creeks for a flamingo safari of a lifetimeSend your feedback to mumbaiforkidsmiddaycomFact fileWhere Mangrove Forest 2 Diva Nagar Road Airoli Navi MumbaiBest for Girls and boys five years and aboveHow to reach We drove but the simplest way would be to take a local train from CSMT station or connect to any Central Railway station heading towards Panvel and alight at Airoli stationTimings Open all days of the week 9 am to 6 pmBudget 25 per head for children 50 for adults Free for BMC and NMC schoolchildrenFood No CarryWater No CarryRest Room facilities YesWhere else to go There are plenty of outdoor options for people to explore in Navi Mumbai There is the picturesque Pandavkada Fall at Kharghar and Kharghar hills if you have older kids who like to trek or those who love nature Or head to Central Park Kharghar or Wonder Park at Nerul if you have younger kidsParent Poll A mustvisit for schoolchildren to understand why mangroves are so important to our bio diversityRatingKids Poll Loved the interactive tabletop screens and the outdoors We could have spent the day hereRatingWhats Good On par with any international museum on marine information Very affordable Loved the balance between the indoor and the outdoorsWhats Not So Good While the staff slowly warmed up to us it would have been great if they were more forthcomingCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates