Aquarium News and Updates

Now Playing! Wild Ocean 3D

Wild Ocean 3D is an explosive, symphonic film that captures one of the natural world's greatest spectacles. Each year, a massive feeding frenzy takes place off South Africa as billions of fish migrate up the KwaZulu-Natal Wild Coast. Breaching whales, frenzied sharks, herding dolphins and diving gannets compete in an epic underwater struggle for survival. While the migration has provided a food source for both life in the sea and the people living along the African shores, global warming trends and overfishing have threatened this great migration's existence. Get submerged in this incredible flurry of oceanic activity at the Simons IMAX Theatre, then visit the Aquarium to learn how you can help reduce the threats facing the ocean.

Celebrate Halloween at the Aquarium

Fish, Fun & Fright

Exclusively for New England Aquarium members

October 24, 6-9 p.m.

This aquatic Halloween party features treats, creatures from the deep and special holiday surprises! A light meal, soft drinks and kids' goodie bags are included in the ticket price. Costumes are strongly encouraged! Reservations are required; click here to reserve your space online. Not a yet member? Join today to access all the privileges of membership! Members may bring non-members as guests.

Joker's Wild Halloween Party

October 30, 7-11 p.m.

Why so serious? Put on your best Joker face and join in on the fun at the Simons IMAX Theatre on Thursday, October 30 for a pre-Halloween bash and screening of the superhero hit The Dark Knight. The party kicks off with spine-tingling tunes and prizes from WBOS 92.9 FM. Enjoy food, a costume contest, a loaded "trick or treat" bag and a cash bar, then experience Batman's battle against the menacing Joker.

Tickets to the event, which include the party and the film, are $12.95--or $6.50 for guests in costume! (Costume discount applies to 8:45 p.m. showing only.) Tickets must be purchased in person at the IMAX box office on October 30, or online tickets can be purchased in advance at regular price. The Dark Knight is rated PG-13.

Live the Blue Lifestyle

Not-so-fun fact: The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 75 percent of our waste is recyclable--yet, despite ambitious recycling programs in many communities, most of it still ends up in the trash.

Don't let confusion about where, how or what to recycle stop you from living blue. Earth911.org offers vast resources on the basics of recycling, including how to dispose of tricky objects like electronics, batteries or paint, where to drop off recycling if your community doesn't offer curbside pickup, and how to get started by sorting your trash. Many states and towns have websites with their own recycling policies, as well. (Massachusetts residents, check out massrecycle.org.) Every little bit helps!

Spotlight on Research

By Amanda Thompson, Lab Manager

Spiny Dogfish The Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) project is a five-year study to assess the biological impacts around the deep-sea ports that allow boats to transfer liquid natural gas. The project has been in full swing this past month, and researches have been out collecting data on the research vessel Galatea in Massachusetts Bay.

Researchers have placed an acoustic tag on a spiny dogfish, a species local to the area, to gather data on the abundance, distribution and behavior of the fish in response to the LNG ports.

Acoustic Pop-Up

A researcher places an acoustic pop-up on the seafloor near the LNG ports to gather sound data that can be retrieved later.

Aquarium Lecture Series

Aquarium Lectures are free and open to the public but require registration. Programs start at 7 p.m. in the Aquarium's Harborside Learning Lab, unless otherwise noted. They last approximately one hour, and a reception follows.

October 23
Midway Atoll and the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument
Wayne Sentman, biologist and field naturalist, Oceanic Society

October 27
Vernal Pool Conservation
Dr. Aram Calhoun, Associate Professor, University of Maine

November 10
Journey With a National Geographic Photographer
Brian Skerry, National Geographic photographer and New England Aquarium Overseer

November 20
Using Technology to Help Protect the North Atlantic Right Whale
Kerry Lagueux, Associate Scientist, New England Aquarium

Dive In!
Register now for these educational programs to introduce your child to the world of water and its inhabitants.

Toddler Explorers: Ocean Motion
Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m.: November 11, 18, December 2, 9
Fridays at 11 a.m.: November 14, 21, December 5, 12

Preschool Explorers: Ocean Motion
Tuesdays at 11 a.m.: November 11, 18, December 2, 9
Fridays at 9:30 a.m.: November 14, 21, December 5, 12

Ocean Detectives Squid Dissection
October 19 at 2 p.m. for 7- to 13-year-olds

Ocean Detectives Saturday Exploration
Sea Turtles: November 8, 2 p.m. for 5- to 10-year-olds

Family Sleepover
November 8 at 7 p.m.
Enjoy an evening of fun and fishy activities in the Aquarium's Harborside Learning Lab, and then sleep over in the Aquarium's West Wing. The next morning, see the Aquarium before it opens to the public.

Now Playing at the

Simons IMAX Theatre

Wild Ocean 3D

Grand Canyon Adventure 3D: River at Risk

Dolphins and Whales 3D: Tribes of the Ocean

The Dark Knight

The Joker is Back...

...and he's six feet tall! Even if you saw the The Dark Knight, you didn't see it like this: on the largest screen in New England surrounded by the best sound system in Boston, at the Aquarium's Simons IMAX Theatre. With four action scenes shot exclusively in large-format for IMAX, this is the must-see version for superhero fanatics, movie buffs and action fans.

This film is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and some menace. The Dark Knight shows Sunday-Thursday at 6 p.m. and Friday-Saturday at 6 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. Purchase tickets online.

@neaq.org

You can use the Aquarium's website for more than just planning your next visit. Check out some of the FAQ pages, great resources for everything you ever wondered about Harbor Discoveries camps, where the Aquarium gets its fishes, the historic right whale birth sighting and penguins!

Climate Change Symposium

Save the Date: February 5, 2009

Along with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Aquarium will host a climate change symposium next February. The purpose of the symposium is to bring business leaders, policy makers and non-governmental organizations together to examine the impacts of climate change and acidification on the marine environment. Please contact Vickie Cataldo at vcataldo@neaq.org or 617-973-0235 if you or your organization is interested in attending.

Celebrate Seafood

November 18, 6:30 p.m.

The Aquarium's Celebrate Seafood Dinner Series teaches foodies, environmentalists and wine connoisseurs alike how to buy, prepare and serve ocean-friendly seafood.

Each event features a three-course tasting menu highlighting a variety of sustainable seafood choices and cooking demonstrations from Aquarium and celebrity guest chefs.

November's event highlights farm-raised oysters, wild-caught striped mullet and farm-raised barramundi and features special guest chef Will Gilson of Garden at the Cellar.

Behind-the-Scenes

Get an inside view of what it takes to care for our animals and exhibits. Learn how we feed the animals, how we keep the exhibits clean and how we make sure our animals are healthy.

Gallery Behind-the-Scenes Tour, October 19 at 10 a.m.

Aquarium Medical Center Tour, November 22 at 10 a.m.

Marine Studies

The Marine Studies Consortium teaches evening undergraduate courses in marine/aquatic sciences and environmental management. The Biology of Fishes course offered at the Aquarium may be the only ichthyology course in the world where students use the resources of a major aquarium at every class meeting.

World of Water in the News

Devoted to the Aquarium

A Perfect Patient for Teaching

Longtime Aquarium Volunteer Likes Being 'Janitor to the Fish'

Majestic Picture of a Close Encounter with a Right Whale

Whale's Death Remains a Mystery