Once again, the New England Aquarium will celebrate World Oceans Day by offering an amazing line-up of ocean-themed activities, giveaways, seafood tastings, contests and more!

We’re teaming up with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to reprise Dr. Seuss’s beloved One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish characters to convey to kids the importance of protecting our oceans.



Be sure to mark your calendar for this popular annual event. It’s a great way to learn about our ocean’s incredibly diverse creatures and habitats—and discover what we can do to take better care of them. Here is the lineup just a few of the day's free family activities!

Win an original painting by one of our penguins (photo at right) and a Dr. Seuss “Keep our Ocean Clean” T-shirt.

Rolling rescues and re-entries off of the Aquarium dock (How do you get back in a kayak if you flip over.)

Music and refreshments
Mix 104.1 FM will be playing music and Polar Beverages will have samples, games and prizes.

Visitors can operate a Sea Perch—a small and simple remotely operated vehicle (ROV) designed for underwater use—and learn about how underwater vehicles are made and deployed to solve problems within the field of Ocean Engineering.

Visit a variety of displays to learn about ocean conservation and marine life.

Bring your plastic grocery bags to recycle and get a free Stop and Shop tote bag.

These chefs will be demonstrating ocean-friendly recipes.

• Alexis Girhiny – Le Cordon Bleu Cambridge (more info)
• Tyrone Todman – New England Aquarium (more info)
• Chris Kanaple – Renaissance Boston (more info)
• Jose Duarte – Taranta Restaurant (more info)

These species will be featured.

• One Fish – Mussels (more info)
• Two Fish – Hybrid striped bass (more info)
• Red Fish – Gulf wild red snapper
• Blue Fish – Bluefish (more info)

Free 4:00 p.m. tasting with Barton Seaver
Plus there will be a special World Oceans Day sustainable seafood tasting featuring Chef Barton Seaver starting at 4:00 p.m. at The Reef on the Aquarium Plaza.





Check this page again soon for exciting updates on this fun, family-friendly event.

Click here for more about the prizes.

Share your thoughts about World Oceans Day on facebook and twitter this Friday, June 3, at noon for a chance to win tickets to the Aquarium and Simons IMAX Theatre. Get the details here.

This Monday April 17, Mark Kurlansky, the acclaimed author of Salt and Cod, will be speaking at the New England Aquarium about his new book, A World Without Fish. His daughter Talia will be joining him for the lecture to contribute a 10-year-old's perspective to ocean conservation issues.

Monday April, 17 at 7 p.m.
World Without Fish (book signing)
Mark Kurlansky, author, and his daughter Talia
Harbor View Café at the New England Aquarium
Register online


We sat down with the speakers to get their thoughts on the upcoming lecture.



About A World Without Fish
The culmination of a lifelong dedication to marine conservation, this lushly illustrated book is Mark Kurlansky’s legacy to his 10-year-old daughter and fishing companion, Talia. A concise overview packaged within a fascinating narrative that reads like fiction, World Without Fish connects all the dots—biology, economics, evolution, politics, climate, history, culture, food and nutrition—into a summary of the circumstances facing our oceans.

About Mark Kurlansky
Mark Kurlansky, renowned author of the award-winning bestseller Cod, provides the most compelling, straightforward account to date of why all the world’s fish could disappear in the next 50 years and how we can stop it. Register here.

The Aquarium has been providing free lectures and films by scientists, environmental writers, photographers and others since 1972. The Aquarium Lecture Series is presented free to the public through the generosity of the Lowell Institute, which has been providing funding for free public lectures at universities and museums since 1836. Register for upcoming lectures here. Note that unlike some previous lectures, this event will not be webcast.

The sharks and rays are a big hit! The Trust Family Foundation Shark and Ray Touch Tank is the Aquarium's new star attraction. With such a popular new exhibit, the Aquarium can get busy, especially during school vacation week. We recommend visitors follow these steps:

• Buy your tickets online to avoid the line.
• For best viewing during this busy time, plan on visiting at 9 a.m. or after 3 p.m. (The Aquarium is open until 6 p.m. from April 15 to April 24. Check hours here.)
• Check out these parking options before leaving for your visit.

Not only are people excited to touch the passing sharks and rays, they're doing an amazing job of sharing that experience online. Here's some images posted by visitors on various social networks. 

 The Trust Family Foundation Shark and Ray Touch Tank officially opens today, just in time for April school vacation. The new exhibit is already a crowd pleaser. Buy your tickets online now and be among the first to touch the sharks and rays!

The Aquarium recommends visitors purchase tickets online in advance to skip the line, arrive early in the morning to beat the crowds and look at these parking options in before driving to the Aquarium.

Aquarium members were the first to get an exclusive preview of the new exhibit from April 4 to 11. They found this exhibit to be one of the most interactive animal experiences around. The Boston Globe quotes one member who recommends bringing along dry clothes to the Aquarium, "because when the cownose rays get frisky, they splash."





The Boston Globe's story also included this video featuring the exhibit.



Read The Boston Globe's full story here and see coverage from CBS here.

Tonight's lecture:
In the Same Net: Biodiversity, ethics and the human spirit
Carl Safina, PhD
7:00 p.m. - live webcast

Scientist and author Carl Safina, PhD gave a talk about how fisheries, coral reefs, forests, climate change, poverty and peace are all facets of the same issue. The talk was part autobiography, Dr. Safina told the story of his global journey from fisherman to scientist to the realization that the changing ocean reflects the challenges facing not just sea life but all of humankind.

Dr. Safina also discussed how scientific findings have ethical implications, how religion and science are converging toward common cause on environmental matters and how moral responses can add momentum toward solutions that are becoming increasingly crucial.

The Aquarium has been providing free lectures and films by scientists, environmental writers, photographers and others since 1972. The Aquarium Lecture Series is presented free to the public through the generosity of the Lowell Institute, which has been providing funding for free public lectures at universities and museums since 1836. Register for upcoming lectures here.

Born to Be Wild 3D premieres today, and the critics love it. Here's a sample quote from James Verniere's review in today's Boston Herald.

"Narrated by Morgan Freeman, the patron saint of modern film narration and featuring lovable baby elephants and baby orangutans, the 46-minute film should do for those creatures what 'March of the Penguins' did for their fine, flippered friends. This is not your grandfather’s 3-D experience."

 Don't miss your chance to see this beautiful story unfold on the largest screen in New England. Check out the trailer and Get your tickets for opening weekend now.




Your chance to win tickets to Born to Be Wild 3D is coming up at noon on Friday, April 8. Connect with the Aquarium on facebook and twitter, and then watch those pages for a question about animal rescue. Reply with an answer as soon as you can and we'll choose our favorite answers to win a pair of IMAX tickets.

The Big Apple Circus's all new show, DANCE ON!, features the world's finest circus artists under the Big Top, with no seat more than 50 feet from the ring! Unibikers and trick ropers from China, contortionists from Mongolia, Kenyan pole climbers, an Ethiopian rebound juggler, a chorus line of miniature horses and more! In this show everyone dances, even the audience!

SAVE UP TO $15 PER TICKET!*

BIG APPLE CIRCUS
APRIL 2 - MAY 15
BOSTON CITY HALL

Buy online or call 888-541-3750.

Mention promotional code NEAQ11 online, by phone or at the Big Top Box Office.

*Offer good on select seats and locations!

 
Lionfish are an invasive species in the western Atlantic, originally from the Indo Pacific. You can learn more about them on our Animals and Exhibits page about the species.


 

What's the perfect movie to see after you touch sharks and rays in The Trust Family Foundation Shark and Ray Touch Tank? Sharks 3D of course. Presented by Jean-Michel Cousteau, Sharks 3D takes you on an in-depth exploration of ocean’s ultimate predators: sharks. On the giant Simons IMAX Theatre screen, which is taller than a six-story building, you will come face-to-face with great white and hammerhead sharks, witness their feeding frenzies, and swim alongside the biggest fish on earth, the whale shark.

 

Starting April 8, you will become inspired by the remarkable bond between orphaned orangutans and elephants and their human caregivers in Born to Be Wild 3D. Narrated by Academy-Award® winner Morgan Freeman, this exquisite film highlights the heartwarming bond between orphaned animals and their human foster mothers.

Let the Aquarium’s Simons IMAX Theatre transport you to the lush rainforests of Borneo to meet world-renowned primatologist Dr. Birute Galdikas, and across the rugged Kenyan savannah with celebrated elephant authority Dame Daphne Sheldrick, as they and their team rescue, rehabilitate and return these incredible animals back to the wild.

Experience a love story like no other, at the largest screen in New England. Here’s a sneak peek at this highly anticipated film:




Order your tickets now for the world premier at the New England Aquarium on April 8.

Your chance to win tickets to Born to Be Wild 3D is coming up at noon on Friday, April 8. Connect with the Aquarium on facebook and twitter, and then watch those pages for a question about animal rescue. Reply with an answer as soon as you can and we'll choose our favorite answers to win a pair of IMAX tickets.