It should come as no surprise that many staff at the Aquarium are keenly interested in underwater technology and exploration. The Boston Sea Rovers show, which is happening March 9 and 10 this year, brings together underwater explorers, scientists, filmmakers, photographers and enthusiasts from around the world, who present their latest exciting discoveries and creations to the public. In the past, notables such as Jacques Cousteau, Stan Waterman, Dr. Sylvia Earle, Dr. Robert Ballard and Brian Skerry have graced the show with their incredible works.

The Sea Rovers poster features a photograph by Aquarium Explorer-in-Residence Brian Skerry

Of course, you don't need to be a professional scuba diver to attend. This event is open to the public as well. Whether you're a diver or not, you can learn about the underwater world through very visual and educational 45-minute presentations, an exhibit hall filled with manufacturers, travel companies and dive organizations and a Saturday evening film festival. A FREE diving workshop is being presented on Saturday, March 9, for anyone interested in seeing what scuba diving is like first-hand.

If you’re already a certified diver, there will be a rebreather workshop offered on Friday, March 8, and many other workshops that include photography, videography and public safety diving. This year’s show will take place at the Double Tree by Hilton in Danvers, MA.

For more information, tickets and show details, visit the Boston Sea Rovers website.

Members, use the code NEAQ2013 for $5 off tickets!

When you're a Northern fur seal (note the northern part of their name), frigid weather like we're having now is a field day. Cordova and Ursula, two Northern fur seal females, with a primary habitat off of Alaska, have a decided perkiness and excitement to the near-zero weather. On the other hand, Zoe and Sierra, two California sea lion pups, are not budging from their indoor pool!

Cordoba shows the secret of how a skinny seal with no blubber can stay warm in polar water. Her fur is the second thickest in the world with 300,000 hairs per square inch.

Marine mammal trainer Jamie Mathison is greeted by Cordova, an excited adult female fur seal, which was energized by the frigid temperatures.

Remarkably, Northern fur seals unlike most other polar seals have almost no blubber. Cordova and Ursula, both adults, weigh just 78 and 93 pounds each. What they do have is the second thickest fur in the world with nearly 300,000 hairs per square inch in a luxurious, multi-layer coat. They spend hours each day keeping it clean so that insulates properly. (It's even cold out now than when an ice sculptor made frosty fur seals for New Year's Eve celebrations!)

Meanwhile,  Zoe, a female California sea lion pup, lived up to her reputation of being a California girl when she and another sea lion pup refused to go outside this week in Boston’s 10-degree temperatures. Instead Zoe enjoyed a little soccer in the hallway of the New Balance Foundation Marine mammal Center.

It's going to be another chilly weekend, so come duck into the Aquarium where it's nice and toasty at some of our tropical exhibits—like The Trust Family Foundation Shark and Ray Touch Tank.

Hey Aquarium friends, there are some eye-popping deals for IMAX tickets available on Living Social and Amazon Local right now: $5 for one ticket (regularly $10).


That’s half off a trip to the Arctic with a mother polar bear and her cubs, half off a plunge into tropical waters with a colorful spectrum of fishes, half off an encounter with the oceans’ most spectacular predators—sharks! So now you can save big when you see ocean animals on the largest screen in New England. Get a full list of our films here.

While you’re here, take advantage of discounted construction pricing to see the real animals at the Aquarium. A movie and marine animals, it’s a great way to spend a chilly afternoon!