Volunteers of the Month: June

We are excited to announce that we have chosen our 3rd annual Department of the Month!  In 2012, we honored Giant Ocean Tank volunteers for their work preparing for the renovations. In 2013, we honored Penguin Colony volunteers for their dedication to caring for the birds off-site and moving them back to Central Wharf.

In 2014, we are honoring a critical behind-the-scenes department integral to the success of the New Aquarium Experience, both on Central Wharf and at the Quincy Facility…the entire Water Quality Department!

Tony Wen, Water Quality Volunteer

Central Wharf: Matthew Whitnell, Tony Wen (above), Gimena Suarez, Elizabeth Spinelli, Mahmonir Pooladgar, Lindsay Chapin, Ben Caiella, Anthony Botto
Quincy: Jeff Summers, Alexandria Poole, Rhoda Pham, Christopher Lau,  Stephanie Gildea, Denis Gearin, Carmen Francoy

Here’s what Dr. Charlie Innis had to say about the work of this department:

The Environmental Quality Laboratory plays a critical role in maintaining the health of our animals. The lab monitors a wide variety of chemical, microbiological and physical parameters in the air and water of our exhibits, rehabilitation facilities and quarantine facilities. In addition to measuring these parameters, the lab team works closely with husbandry and facilities staff to react to environmental problems and to proactively develop systems to prevent such problems.

And Nina Fischer, Environmental Quality Manager, talks about the value of volunteers in this work:

Our volunteers play a very important part in our day-to-day work: they help us collect water samples from the big systems at Central Wharf, organize the bottles so we can process all the testing requests efficiently and then help us perform all the water testing required for that day. We routinely check more than a dozen different water quality parameters and handle at least 100 different samples per day (this includes both the Central Wharf and the Quincy location—attention to detail is definitely the number one skill that’s required. Our volunteers make the difference between a day just being busy and a day being crazy. We really appreciate their time and efforts, the positive attitude they bring to the lab, the questions they ask and enjoy seeing them master the more difficult tests, gaining confidence and enough background knowledge over time so they will be able point out results that are not what they should be.

Many thanks to the Water Quality volunteers both on Central Wharf and at the Quincy Facility for keeping our animals in a healthy environment!

2014 Ocean Stewardship Awards

The Aquarium Education Department's Ocean Stewardship Awards are one of the ways our educators recognize teachers and schools who are working to promote an ethic of ocean conservation and who are taking concrete steps to help protect our blue planet. We received a record number of nominations and we were thrilled to hear about all the amazing work being done by both teachers and schools across New England.

This year, we honored our winners at our World Oceans Day event on June 8. We would like to thank everyone who joined us for the celebration and to all those who took the time to complete a nomination.

Congratulations to all of our winners!

TEACHER CATEGORY

From left to right: John Anderson (Director of Education, New England Aquarium); Michelle Mandelman Wildes; Carolyn Sheild; and Bernadette McEvoy

WINNER
Bernadette McEvoy
Grade 7 teacher
Pierce Middle School, Milton, MA

Community members who care about their local watershed, the ocean and the environment in general are what inspire Bernadette McEvoy to educate her students about ocean conservation. With passion, she teaches engaging lessons about the Neponset River Watershed and works hard to create authentic outdoor experiences for her students. Her many achievements include organizing the World Water Monitoring Day event. In collaboration with the MWRA and CH2MHill, she and her students annually test the water quality of Pine Tree Brook in Milton. In past years, she also worked in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts at Boston to develop a project in which students designed a swan probe to test the water quality of Turner's Pond in Milton.

In addition to these projects, Bernadette is always open to sharing her experience and knowledge with colleagues and recently presented on ‘Watershed Wonders: Inspiring Environmental Stewardship’ at the National Science Teachers Association Convention in Boston. She also regularly encourages her students to raise awareness about our ocean by submitting artwork to the annual Massachusetts Marine Educators K-12 Marine Art Contest. Above all, Bernadette believes that students care when they are aware. She believes that the more she teaches about the ocean and environment, the more likely they will become environmental stewards for life.

HONORABLE MENTION
Carolyn Sheild
Grade 7 teacher
Clarke Middle School, Lexington, MA

Carolyn continually inspires students to explore the ocean by creating tremendous learning opportunities both inside and outside her classroom. She arranges for scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) to visit her classroom and plans much of her curriculum around the WHOI Dive and Discover website. Her class connects with the scientists on board the research vessel and devises scientific investigations based on the work being done on the ship. Her involvement with WHOI even provided her with an opportunity to sail with researchers and take a dive in the Alvin submarine – a trip she shared with all the students at Clarke Middle School when she addressed them from the ocean depths via the school's PA system.

In addition to connecting her student with professional scientists, Carolyn arranges an annual field trip for all seventh graders to explore the rocky intertidal zone and its ecology at the Northeastern University Marine Science Research Center at Nahant. Furthermore, her love of the oceans has caused her to take a keen interest in teaching about the effects of global warming and she has devised a series of inquiry-based investigations to examine the effects of increased carbon dioxide levels on ocean acidity. Carolyn has even started an after-school Ocean Science Club to go beyond what she is able to teach in her classroom. Her passion for the ocean is tremendous.

HONORABLE MENTION
Michelle Mandelman Wildes 
Grade 7 and 8 teacher
Beaver Country Day School, Chestnut Hill, MA

As a middle school science teacher at Beaver Country Day School, Michelle inspires her students every day to take action to protect our planet. Over the past ten years, she has created a rich marine biology curriculum, infusing her classroom with projects and labs that push her students to think critically about ocean conservation. Through her leadership, students become passionate about ocean issues and they help spread the word by creating projects to share with the school community, thereby educating others and inspiring more positive action. In her Global Ocean Issues Research Studio, her eighth graders work to research and create art projects, speeches, movies or websites to raise awareness about various topics including bycatch, sustainable seafood choices, and the destruction of coral reefs.

But Michelle’s dedication is not contained to her classroom; she infuses the whole school with knowledge of ocean issues. She invites speakers to discuss plastics pollution and protection of sharks with the whole school and regularly takes students on trips to the New England Aquarium and Woods Hole, Mass., where they investigate animals and marine life. In addition, Michelle coordinates water data collection visits to the Charles River. Along with her passion and dedication to ocean issues, Michelle’s colleagues describe her as an amazing educator whose vivacious personality is infectious to all of her students.

SCHOOL GROUP CATEGORY 

Front row, from left to right: Julie Coughlin (Pathways Academy); Breeda Ryan (Pathways Academy); Faraz Sabet (Pathways Academy); Lee McMillan & Ann Witzig (Essex Agricultural and Technical High School); Meghan Conway (Manchester Essex Regional High School), John Anderson (Director of Education, New England Aquarium)Back row, from left to right: Pete Loeb (Pathways Academy); Adam Stackhouse, Jill Rasmus & Paul Crofts (Essex Agricultural and Technical High School) Front row, from left to right: Julie Coughlin (Pathways Academy); Breeda Ryan (Pathways Academy); Faraz Sabet (Pathways Academy); Lee McMillan & Ann Witzig (Essex Agricultural and Technical High School); Meghan Conway (Manchester Essex Regional High School), John Anderson (Director of Education, New England Aquarium) Back row, from left to right: Pete Loeb (Pathways Academy); Adam Stackhouse, Jill Rasmus & Paul Crofts (Essex Agricultural and Technical High School)

WINNER
The Environmental Science Group
Essex Agricultural and Technical High School
Faculty Advisor, Ann Witzig
Hathorne, MA

The goal of the Environmental Science program at Essex Agricultural and Technical High School is to equip students with the skills necessary to become future stewards of the environment. Students in this program participate in numerous efforts to raise environmental awareness in their community. They partake in certifying vernal pools in local areas and create trails in the nearby communities with a focus on educating the public of important environmental issues. They raise red-bellied cooters and salmon to be released back into the environment. They collect and analyze water quality data from a local river as well as identify and conduct a wildlife population census. Students also plan, prepare and execute a field trip to Canada to learn about Canadian fisheries and obtain certification as Environmental Interpretive Guides through the National Association of Interpreters (NAI).

Through this work, students become ambassadors of the environment, and take that leadership role seriously. In addition to the many program-designated projects, students regularly develop their own initiatives.  For example, several students recently paved the way to a lunchtime recycling program and created an awareness campaign about the harmful effects of improperly disposed medications into our water system. The Environmental Science program offers a hands-on curriculum that sparks passion for the environment and inspires the next generation of ocean stewards.

HONORABLE MENTION
Pathways Academy
Belmont, MA

The students and staff at Pathways Academy wanted to take action to keep their local areas clean so they decided to create ‘Pathways Pick-Up’ – a project whereby recyclable materials and batteries are gathered and dropped off at specified locations. But, what started as one project led to a cultural shift at the school shown by a campus-wide sustainability initiative whereby ‘throw-away’ plastic and paper products were replaced with reusable products made from recycled materials. Furthermore, in an effort to keep items from landfills and the ocean, the students at Pathways Academy regularly use ‘found’ items, such as broken keyboard keys, discarded sports equipment, and used cardboard boxes, in art projects. Green is now a way of life at Pathways Academy.

Not only do these initiatives help protect the environment and ocean, they also positively impact the students at Pathways Academy, a school for students with Asperger’s Syndrome and related disorders. Through ‘Pathways Pick-Up’ and the ‘found items’ projects, students practice pragmatics skills. Most importantly, students at Pathways are learning to appreciate the land and ocean that surrounds us. They are learning how to become responsible members of a great community and are constantly seeking new ways to support healthy environments.

HONORABLE MENTION
The Seaside Sustainability Group
Manchester Essex Regional High School
Faculty Advisor, Eric Magers
Manchester, MA

The Seaside Sustainability Group is a division of the Manchester Essex Regional High School Green Team and is led by a group of concerned and active students from the Cape Ann area who serve to educate and promote awareness on our oceans’ impact and role in society. The program aims to increase environmental stewardship, teach civic responsibility and nurture a passion for sustainable living practices.

From ocean acidification and plastic pollution to sea level rise and invasive species, students in the group learn about many challenges facing our ocean. With this knowledge, they work to raise awareness in local areas and give community members the tools and knowledge to effectively preserve our ocean and local aquatic ecosystems. In the future, the Seaside Sustainability Group hopes to develop as a group and acquire a boat in an effort to reach a broader range of people. With their work, they hope to serve as a model of sustainability through innovative local actions working towards finding solutions to environmental challenges. They value all that the ocean gives to us and are working hard to preserve its beauty and health.

Learn about past Ocean Stewardship Award winners here. Nomination period for the 2015 Awards will open in November 2014. Check back here for more information.

Aquarium's Animal Encounters featured in Globe Travel section

Brittany Miller treated her boyfriend, Steve Spano (left), to a Take a Dip with a fur seal program, one of the Aquarium's Animal Encounters. Marine mammal trainer Paul Bradley (right) guided the couple through the program.
Photo: Wendy Maeda/The Boston Globe

Here at the Aquarium we know that one of the most fun things you can do during your visit is to have an Animal Encounter. And The Boston Globe knows it, too. The Sunday Globe's Travel section just did a piece that captures some of the wonder and excitement visitors feel when they get a kiss from a fur seal during a Take a Dip program in the Marine Mammal Center or stand out on the platform at the top of the Giant Ocean Tank to feed some of the inhabitants in the Meet Myrtle program.

Here's an excerpt from the Globe's story.

"Brittany Miller stood waist-deep in a pristine pool at the New England Aquarium in May, her face scrunched together in glee as a fur seal leapt up, greeting her cheek with its nose. A smile spread over her face as she opened her eyes, looking down at the seal’s puppy-like expression."

Read the full story here.

NOTE: This program is currently unavailable with the fur seals. Please contact Central Reservations at 617-973-5206 for more information about booking a Take a Dip program with the harbor seals later this summer.

Fishackathon success!

After many hours of discussion, food, coffee, and a last minute infusion of Red Bull, the Fishackathon ended with presentations by our two teams.

A small but mighty group of computer programers convened at UMass Boston for a fishackathon

To recap, a hackathon is where computer programs join together with people who need programs to create solutions. The Fishackathon is a five city competition (Boston, Miami, New York, Baltimore, and Monterey Bay) to create technology solutions to help solve world fishery issues. In Boston, we had a small group of coders join us (small because the NSA was also holding a local hackathon).

Caution: Fishackers at work!

But we proved to be small but mighty! Our participants were tasked with solving the problem of how to communicate to small scale shrimp farmers, and how to collect data to make sure they done combine to have many impacts. They divided into two groups and, within 24 hours, created a solution including a phone application through which shrimp farmers can be registered, sent best management practices and data can be collected. (More on the background to the problem here.)



The project S.H.R.I.M.P. (Shrimp Husbandry Research Information Mapping Project) was developed by Lyra Silverwolf, Dev Lyer, Chloe Eghtebas, Rochad Tlusty, Eric Schneider, Maura Hausman and Hari Lyer. This project accomplished everything they were asked to do, and created a very neat way for different user groups (mangers or farmers) to look at the data they collect. This team had a strong influence from Olin College, and this is a program to be respected.



CaptuRED was developed by Kelly Heber and Iain Dunning, graduate students at MIT. This app is to help local citizens understand the hidden economic value of the environment focusing on the mangrove areas so important in tropical countries.

This project is part of the Our Ocean 2014 conference, and we have just learned that CaptuRED was selected to compete for the grand prize (a trip to the Philippines!). Kelly will present her project tomorrow with the winners from each of the other four fishackathons at 1 pm. Good luck, Kelly and Ian!

This fishackathon could not have been conducted without immense help from Dr. Robyn Hannigan, Dean of the School for the Environment at University of Massachusetts Boston, and her assistant Edgar Frank. Island Creek Oysters provided support for food, and Wolfram provided prizes for the Boston fishackathon. Thanks

How the Hard Rock Cafe is helping sea turtles

We are happy to announce a new partnership between the Aquarium and the Hard Rock Cafe at Faneuil Hall. This partnership officially kicked off on World Oceans Day and will hopefully bring much-needed support for our Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Program.

Caring for sea turtles at the Aquarium's Animal Care Center in Quincy

Here's how it works: Whenever diners at the Hard Rock Cafe mention the Aquarium, the restaurant will donate 15% of their food bill to our rescue program. For the rescue program to receive this benefit, diners must present a special Aquarium/Hard Rock rack card to their server (seen at right), show their membership card or simply say, "Myrtle the turtle sent me." These rack cards will be available at the Info Desk and in the Gift Shop here at the Aquarium.

This kind of support is incredibly important for our efforts to save endangered sea turtles. The New England Aquarium is a global leader in sea turtle care, conservation and research. All seven of the world's sea turtle species are either endangered or threatened, and four of these species are commonly found in New England waters. Learn more about what we do to help sea turtles on the Rescue Blog.

Now our sea turtle rescue program is among the many environmental causes that the Hard Rock Cafe supports around the world. So the next time you're at the Aquarium and are looking for someplace nearby to sit down and chow, ask about these rack cards. Your next tasty plate of fries could help endangered sea turtles.

Join us for the Fishackathon!

The Aquarium's sustainable seafood programs work to understand the ways in which we can produce yummy, healthy seafood with fewer environmental impacts. We spend a lot of time working with certification programs that assure specific environmental criteria are met in the production of seafood. But currently, only 5 percent of seafood is certified.

This led us to ask: what are the impacts of the remaining 95 percent?

Shrimp | Photo: Frank C. Müller via

To answer this question, we are creating a way to engage small aquaculture producers (did you know there are 500,000 shrimp farmers in Vietnam?). The first step in this endeavor will be this weekend when we hold a "hackathon" at UMASS Boston. Programmers will meet for 24 hours to develop the technology we need to reach out to farmers and understand their impacts.

At the end of the hackathon, a winner will be selected and that project will compete for a grand prize (a trip to the Philippines!) at the State Department Ocean Summit. Winners will be announced at the Our Oceans Conference in Washington D.C. next week, and the Aquarium's President and CEO Nigella Hilgarth and Director of Conservation Meghan Jeans are participating!

Here are more details:

• When Friday, June 13, 7 p.m. to Saturday, June 14, 10 pm

• Where UMass Boston
  100 Morrissey Blvd
  Boston, MA 02125
  Ryan Lounge, 3rd Floor McCormack Hall
  Directions

• What 27 hours of coding for fish!

• Why The majority of the aquaculture industry, globally, is made up of mainly small-scale units, including small family farms in developing nations. Environmental impacts, such as pollution and habitat loss, leading to disease and social issues, have ranged from negligible to significant. Shrimp aquaculture has historically been one of the more environmentally impactful sectors of the aquaculture industry.  More

Fish farm in India | Photo: Drajay1976 via

• What
  The Fishackathon is a national effort involving several partners across the country and is being held concurrently with the Secretary of State's Our Ocean Conference. These Fishackathons partner fishery experts with technologists to create innovative technology which address sustainable fishery challenges.
  
  The Boston Fishackathon will focus on developing a cell phone platform to educate farmers on better production practices (biosecurity, disease identification and outbreak notifications, escape prevention, feed management) and the ways in which to reduce environmental impacts. The partner country for this project will be India. India currently ships the greatest volume of shrimp to the United States, small scale farmers dominate production, and there is a broad scale change from black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) to white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) which are farmed at a higher density and thus can have potentially greater impacts.
  
  Farmers involved in the project would provide data on impact factors (including but not limited to regional water quality measures, disease outbreak information, feed conversion ratios, the inclusion of wild fish within feed, and regulatory enforcement visits). These data will be analyzed by specialists at the New England Aquarium and UMass Boston and will serve to inform subsequent training modules.

If you know how to write code, please join us!

Cirque and the Seals

You may have seen the soaring tent in the South Boston marine industrial park. If so you know Cirque du Soleil is in town, with its elegant brand of acrobatics and theatrical performances complete with lithe athletes that impress audiences with amazing strength and flexibility. 

Well, we've heard oohs and aahs like that around the Aquarium, too. The Northern fur seals have long impressed visitors with their amazing flexibility and strength! 

Fur seals Isaac and Ursula smooch Cirque performers 

Today these graceful athletes met each other face to muzzle. After cruising the city with Boston Duck Tour this morning, some performers from Cirque du Soleil's current production of Amaluna met the Aquarium’s fur seals to share some tips on training, strike some mirror poses with each other and get a friendly kiss. Here's a look at their meeting.

Flipper stand versus hand stand

Ursula gives a kiss

All athletes need to eat a healthy diet. A performer helps feed Ursula some tasty fish.

Everybody wave!

Not all the performers were on deck with the animals!
Some had front row seats to see these amazing animals in their element

Not your average spectators in the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center

Summertime on Central Wharf!

There's always a certain buzz in the air this time of year. School vacation is upon us, the seasonal visitors to Stellwagen Bank are out in full force and, slowly but surely, the thermometer is marching upward to mark the sizzling start of summer. That means it's a great time to visit the Aquarium!

The Reef restaurant and bar is open on the Front Plaza for harbor-side snacks and cocktails.

Timed ticketing is the best way to get in the door to see the penguins porpoising through the water or the sea lions cavorting in their breezy, open-air exhibit overlooking Boston Harbor. Choose the day and time you'd like to visit and you're already one step closer to the thousands of animals that live here on Central Wharf! (Got questions about timed ticketing? These might help.) We offer extended summer hours these days, so choose the day and time you'd like to visit and save time by printing your tickets at home. Don't forget to visit the Gift Shop to pick up a memento or some postcards for your far-flung friends.

Keep cool and watch the penguins cruise their 150-thousand gallon exhibit!

Let sea breezes ruffle your hair with an eye-popping trip to Stellwagen Bank to see whales, seabirds and other sea creatures. If you follow the Whale Watch Log, you'll know the action has been spectacular! So get out there with the New England Aquarium Whale Watch and Boston Harbor Cruises. Boats leaves several times each day (weather permitting) all summer long—and boats can sell out quickly. Learn more and grab your tickets today!

Head out on a New England Aquarium Whale Watch to see the huge buffet and all the whales coming to feast

Another great way to escape is a cinematic safari at the Simons IMAX Theatre. Swish through the jungles of Madagascar in search of lemurs in Island of Lemurs: Madagascar 3D (don't miss the trailer). Glide through tropical reefs with a Journey to the South Pacific 3D and get to know one of the blue planet's most feared predators in Great White Shark 3D (and find out why these amazing animals need our help)!

A scene from the captivating Island of Lemurs: Madagascar 3D

When you're ready to digest all you've seen and experienced, order up some refreshing drinks and nibbles at the Aquarium's waterfront eatery The Reef. Serving up ocean-friendly seafood and kid-approved vittles, there's something for everyone at this seasonal joint—including lovely views of the city skyline and the hustle and bustle of the waterfront.

The California sea lions in the marine mammal center are always up to something!

The summer is young. Let us help you explore our blue planet—it'll be fun!

Members! Don't forget to use your discounts on the whale watch, IMAX tickets and food at the Harbor View Café and The Reef.

Aquarium ClimaTeens creating a city-wide dialog for youth in Boston

This cross-post from The Ocean Project's blog written by Heather Deschenes, the New England Aquarium's Manager of Youth Development Programs. This post is the first in a 3-part series on their Innovative Solutions Grants+ project, which investigates how teen ambassadors can make a difference for their city’s green future.

With support from The Ocean Project’s Innovative Solutions Grants Program, ClimaTEENS is a gathering of 15–18 year-olds that care about the ocean and who want to contribute to a healthy future. Teens in this Aquarium program arrived with varied levels of knowledge about climate change, but are united by a desire to learn more about it as an issue of concern and are committed to learning ways to engage public audiences, particularly their peers.

ClimaTEENs present about ocean acidification on Earth Day 2014 

With guidance and support from aquarium staff and an introduction to strategic communication theory, participants will develop an in-person presentation to share at three youth oriented conferences annually, create blog posts for the Aquariums website and a video to share through social media. Their messages will be shaped with four themes in mind :

• Our lives are connected to the ocean
• Climate change is affecting the ocean
• Communities are already working to mitigate disruptive impacts of climate change.
• Youth voices matter

Presentations, blog posts and videos will all encourage listeners or readers to join a citywide effort to reduce carbon emissions called Greenovate Boston. Greenovate Boston is a community-driven movement to get all Bostonians involved in reducing the city’s greenhouse gas emissions 25% by 2020 and 80% by 2050, as outlined in the City’s Climate Action Plan. By laying out the necessary steps to reduce the causes of and to prepare for climate change, the Climate Action Plan gives Greenovate Boston a framework for building a greener, healthier, and more prosperous city. The youth voice in the Greenovate effort is growing and we aim to support that growth. In addition, the Greenovate website will allow for ClimaTEENS audiences to:

• Pledge to take part in carbon emissions reducing activities
• Invite others to join them in those activities
• Provide feedback and ideas for future activities and initiatives

Greenovate Boston also leverages a growing ambassador program that enables trained Greenovate Ambassadors to host public in-person meet ups where dialog is about climate change and how we can address it. ClimaTEENS will host a meet up for youth before August 2014.

Commuting by bicycle is one way to reduce carbon emissions and tackle climate change.
Photo: Mikael Colville-Andersen via

We anticipate being able to measure impacts of ClimaTEENS efforts from direct website hits based on our message because the Greenovate website is enabled with a number of built in evaluative properties. For example, in-person audiences of ClimaTEENS presentations will be asked to visit the website and leave a comment referencing the presentation and mentioning an activity the presentation inspired them to participate in. Blog readers and those who watch ClimaTEENS’ video will be asked to reference ClimaTEENS using hash tags as they interact with the Greenovate website.

We’re enthusiastic about facilitating connections between youth and the ocean and hope to inspire them to contribute in meaningful ways to a growing community of ocean stewards. ClimaTEENS are helping to support and extend the New England Aquarium mission.

Members of ClimaTEENs will be giving a special presentation for teens on Saturday, June 7, followed by an activity creating your own message about issues facing the ocean in preparation for World Oceans Day on Sunday, June 8. Illustrator and animator Brandon Strathmann will lead participants in creating storyboards around these topics. Click here to register.

Oh, how we celebrated World Oceans Day June 8!

Here at the Aquarium, we like to think every day is oceans day. But there comes an occasion each year that we go all out and celebrate our blue planet. That happened last weekend: World Oceans Day!

We hosted free, outdoor activities as the Aquarium celebrates World Oceans Day on Central Wharf on June 8. Kids loved all the hands-on activities, games and crafts. Our sustainable seafood cooking demonstrations were a big hit. Of course, there was also lots to learn about ocean animals and how each of us can live blue™ to help the oceans!

Make your own sea jelly craft with our friends at Boston Harbor Cruises!

Here's a list of all the free activities:

• Seafood cooking demonstrations with Aquarium’s Head Chef Bill Bradley,  Josh Lewin from Bread and Salt, Peter McCarthy from EVOO and more! Featured species on the menu will be: Squid, trout and Pacific halibut 
• Live appearance by Magic 106.7
• Opportunity to try on real water-survival suits 
• Experiment with kelp and learn about its characteristics 
• Design your own Hard Rock Guitar Save the Planet pin
• Enjoy free Ben & Jerry’s scoops 
• An appearance by Calvin the life size inflatable right whale
• MIT SeaGrant ROV’s
• An Augmented Reality Sandbox 
• Lots of arts and crafts 

Aquarium teens created this structure from recycled bottles—so much plastic.
Use a reusable water bottle if you can!

Plus, we had exciting giveaways leading up to and during the event. Congratulations to our winners!

In the days leading up to World Oceans Day, we gave away dozens of seats on
DUCK Tours through an Instagram contest.

Raffle winners:

• Penguin painting – Maddie C.
• Signed Barton Seaver cookbook – Narda S.

We collaborate with many groups to provide lots of information about our blue planet. Gorton's Seafood brought their lego sailor and helped families learn about sustainable seafood.

Gorton’s Seafood "Guess How Many Legos" winner (2 Aquarium passes) – Angelina Camacho
Boston Harbor Cruise Whale Watch winners (family 4-pack) - Susan Chinsen and Dawn Coelin

Thanks to everyone who joined us!