Ruth Brindle discovered fascinating sea creatures and even more fascinating facts on a visit to the Sea Life London Aquarium.

With eager cries of ‘Dory!’ it was obvious our walk around the Sea Life London Aquarium had led us to our ultimate prize. Youngsters all around us peered into one of the attraction’s displays to see the distinctive Blue Tang fish, or to give her a more familiar name - Dory - the star of Disney Pixar’s latest animated adventure Finding Dory.

Also swimming blissfully around was a collection of bright orange and distinctive Clownfish – Nemo to you and millions of others who have waited a long time for the follow-up to the smash hit film Finding Nemo. This special event at the Southbank attraction links with the film’s run at cinemas for the summer holidays. But whether you have seen the film yet or not, being able to spot the real fish close up is fascinating.

“Like Finding Nemo before it, the new film is likely to inspire an interest in marine life among millions of children, which is why we’re delighted to be associated with it,” commented event organiser Jamie Turner. “We have many of the real sea creatures in our displays that the film’s characters are based on,” he continued “and with their help we believe we can reinforce the messages which are at the heart of the film, about the importance of looking after our seas and of sharing experiences with family and friends.”

Our trail had an added aim of finding a collection of letters as we made our way around the aquarium to make a word and collect a prize at the end of our visit. This added to the adventure of discovering sea creatures, from tiny to very, very large.

It was obvious that most of the young visitors were well versed in the who’s who of Finding Nemo characters. “There’s Bubbles!” yelled one excited youngster – a Yellow Tang who, in Finding Nemo, is fascinated by bubbles in the sea, not to forget Bloat, the puffer fish and cousins of other shrimp, shark and star fish characters.

We learned a lot of fascinating facts on our way around, were able to get our hands wet to delve into rock pools and watched the graceful motion of various species of rays in the Ray Lagoon.

There are 5,000 different sea creatures to gawp at here, including Piranhas. I was intrigued to notice that they have very blingy, sparkly skin, but they didn’t look any less scary. In the Ocean Tunnel you feel as if you are wandering along on the seabed as enormous Green Sea Turtles and Bonnethead sharks glide inches from your head.

But while the bigger creatures make an obvious impact, I found lingering a little longer to really study the smaller ones, such as the Seadragons and Seahorses was a delight.

Our visit was a fun-packed few hours, finishing with one of the newer exhibits of the attraction – Penguin Point where Gentoo Penguins from the Antarctic attract admiring crowds.

August is also 'Shark Month' at the aquarium with jaw-some free games and activities in celebration of one of the oceans' most misunderstood and vitally important predators. There’ll be free activities and the expert staff will be giving regular talks.

You can check out the shark-infested waters of the Pacific Wreck Zone, home to six species including Sand Tiger sharks, Black Tip Reef sharks, Brown Sharks and a stunning Bowmouth Guitarfish.

Finding Dory Event, Sea Life London Aquarium, County Hall, Riverside Building, Westminster Bridge Rd, London SE1 7PB, until September 30, open seven days a week from 10am on weekdays, and 9am on weekends. Details: visitsealife.com/london