Making Connections: Science at the Aquarium's IMAX and Harvard

Let your family delve deep into the mysteries of our prehistoric oceans, from the crisp 3D technology at the Aquarium's Simons IMAX Theatre all the way to the hallowed halls of the Harvard Museum of Natural History!

Start your journey back in time with Sea Rex 3D: Journey to a Prehistoric World (click here for a preview) at the Aquarium's IMAX theatre, where you'll see graceful giants swim through the oceans of 200 million years ago. As if the stunning 3D technology wasn't realistic enough, starting July 7 you can then bring your ticket stubs to the Harvard Museum of Natural History and save $3 on adult admission to see the world's only mounted skeleton of the kronosaurus, a real sea reptile that lived around the time of Sea Rex 3D!



From the silver screen to real life, seeing the skeleton after the movie will be like a big-time celebrity sighting. It's a whopping 42 feet long!



Let Sea Rex 3D: Journey to a Prehistoric World and the Harvard Museum of Natural History open your family's eyes to the oceans of a lost age! This offer is valid until August 31, 2010.

A birthday fit for a queen (triggerfish)!

by Amanda Thompson

It seems like only yesterday New England Aquarium researchers, aquarists and students at Roger Williams University were celebrating the success of hatching and raising the very first queen triggerfish in captivity from one of the eggs collected from the Giant Ocean Tank. Now, one year on, June 26 marked the queen triggerfish’s first birthday.


Photo: Andy Rhyne

Although it is still a juvenile, researcher Andy Rhyne often refers to it as, "a brute of a fish" and aquarist Christopher Payne, who currently works with the fish, remarks that, "It's a pretty amazing fish with its coloration, teeth and personality." And both find it fascinating to watch it eat urchins, mussels and the occasional crab!

Currently, it is being kept in a quarantine tank along with fish that were recently collected from a Bahamas expedition. They are all undergoing a copper sulfate treatment to rid them of any possible parasites, and should be ready to make an appearance in the Giant Ocean Tank soon!

Celebrating Sustainable Seafood

If you visit 606 Congress restaurant at the Renaissance Boston Hotel, you’ll find that cooking with sustainable seafood is catching on. Chef Greg Griffie has been showcasing hook-caught haddock as a special event since May 27, and the promotion will continue until June 26.

Griffie was a guest chef at one of the Aquarium’s Celebrate Seafood dinners this spring, and he’s clearly aware that hook-caught haddock is a good seafood choice. So if you’re interested in sustainable seafood, come to a Celebrate Seafood dinner at the Aquarium and try the haddock at 606 Congress.

Summer is Here! Beach Party and Fashion Show at The Reef

Slide into some flip-flops and cruise into summer with a cool cocktail in hand at the annual opening bash for the New England Aquarium's waterfront bar and restaurant, The Reef. It's time to kick off your summer with free appetizers, creative cocktails, live music and fantastic giveaways — all at Boston's best outdoor bar!

Just in time for some scorching temperatures, be among the first to see this summer's sizzling styles at this beachy fashion show starting at 6:30 p.m. Featuring looks from Boston's Sun Spot, TV Diner's Jenny Johnson will emcee this annual style extravaganza on the blue carpet. You won't want to miss it... last year's event was covered in the Names section of the Globe!

Start your summer off right at the New England Aquarium's The Reef on Central Wharf!

Thursday, June 17
5:30 p.m. — Free appetizers
6:30 p.m. — Summer fashion show with Jenny Johnson, music from Mix 104.1
Plus, all night long you can enter to win loaded beach bags, gift certificates and free tickets to the New England Aquarium!

More information: Caitie Peterson- 617-269-7171 or caitlin@teakmedia.com.

Oil Spill News Coverage of the New England Aquarium Rescue Team

New England Aquarium chief veterinarian Dr. Charles Innis and rescue director Connie Merigo are busy treating turtles plucked from the mucky plumes of oil in the Gulf, side by side with rescuers from the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. (Learn about their efforts here, here, here and here.) The efforts of these rescue teams has been covered by media outlets across the country. Here are some examples.


A net is used to remove an oiled sea turtle from the Gulf of Mexico. Photo: WWLTV.com

Dr. Innis appeared in a very informative news package from WWLTV in Louisiana:



Dr. Innis has also been quoted in several news outlets from all corners of the country, including California, Texas, Nevada, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Ohio. Closer to home, he told the Boston Globe that rescuers are worried about turtles who are tough to spot in the gloppy Gulf.

This informative article from CBS News explains the rigorous process necessary for cleaning and releasing wild animals, like pelicans.

Visit this page more information about how you can help the New England Aquarium as it prepares for an influx of sea turtle patients related to the oil spill.

Clouds and crowds for World Oceans Day!

Despite threatening skies, World Oceans Day festivities brightened the day for hundreds of visitors at the New England Aquarium on Sunday! Families gathered in our Harbor View Terrace tent for free games, hands-on learning and a chance to win fantastic prizes. (We'll be drawing names tomorrow, the official World Oceans Day, so check back here to see if you're a winner.)

Even the Boston Herald attended and snapped darling pictures of a smiling "hermit crab"!


Kids explored their artistic side by creating a group sculpture from discarded fishing gear and lobster pots.


A wet lab let Aquarium researchers show kids how some whales filter food from the ocean.


Kids took the controls of the Sea Perch underwater robot provided by Sailors for the Sea.


Aquarium chefs gave gourmets some tips on cooking sustainable seafood during a demonstration.

Thanks to everyone who participated and contributed to this fantastic event. Whether you attended or not, you can make oceans day every day. Show your support for protecting our oceans by claiming a virtual plot of ocean and pledging to live blue on the Aquarium’s Live Blue Initiative: http://www.liveblueinitiative.org/

At Aquarium press conference, Rep. Markey talks about BP spill

US Representative Edward J. Markey speaks at the New England Aquarium as Aquarium President and CEO Bud Ris (right) looks on.


"BP has committed a crime against nature," US Representative Edward J. Markey said during a press conference at the Aquarium today.

Markey, who is the chair of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, was flanked by five scientists, including Aquarium President and CEO Bud Ris, as he announced that he will introduce a bill into Congress to create an oil company-funded research and development program to find 21st-century oil safety and spill response technologies.


Aquarium President and CEO Bud Ris speaks as Representative Ed Markey looks on.


Ris and the other scientists joined Markey to talk about the ramifications of the oil spill for New England. The Aquarium president focused on the impact the oil in the Gulf will have on sea turtles, especially the critically endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle. These small sea turtles breed in the Gulf, then follow the Gulf Stream up the Eastern Seaboard to feed in the waters off Cape Cod during the summer. The Aquarium is at the forefront of a yearly effort to rescue and rehabilitate Kemp's ridleys that strand on Cape Cod as they try to head south for the winter.

Molly Lutcavage director of the Large Pelagics Research Lab at the University of New Hampshire, spoke about the potential effects of the Gulf oil on bluefin and yellowfin tuna, which spawn in the Gulf.

George Hampson, a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution biologist and a researcher on the 1969 Buzzard's Bay oil spill, spoke about the long-lasting effects of that spill on the bay's ecosystem and the lessons that were learned from the spill.


Markey emphasized that he intends to make sure that BP stands for "Bills Paid,'' and Ris closed the conference by saying that the oil spill is a real wake-up call for the world to cut down on our carbon footprint, seek lasting energy solutions, take real steps to conserve our oceans and "as we say at the Aquarium, live blue."

Read updates on oiled sea turtle rescue efforts in the Gulf on the Aquarium's Marine Animal Rescue Team blog.

Claim a plot of ocean and pledge to live blue.

See news reports from the press conference: Boston Herald, WHDH Channel 7, New England Cable News and WBZ.

Weymouth Herring Run - A Job Well Done!

As many as 200,000 herring a year make the journey from the ocean to Whitman's Pond in Weymouth, Mass. to spawn. This important conduit often goes unnoticed and can become cluttered with trash and debris. But the Live Blue Ambassadors took a stand, got wet and cleared the way for this year's herring run. Read about their day on the run on this previous post.



Good news, too. Their efforts paid off! Take a look. You can see the herring swimming against the current to climb the fish ladder. Some of them even jump out of the water!



For more information on the Live Blue Ambassador service program for teens, contact Heather Deschenes at hdeschenes@neaq.org or call 617-973-0253. Find out how another herring-savior with ties to the Aquarium helped rescue herring from a flood pipe.