World Oceans Day is a time to celebrate the efforts of our entire community in protecting the blue planet. The New England Aquarium is inviting the public to a family-friendly festival that showcases the conservation efforts of community groups and organizations.


Sunday, June 5
11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Central Wharf, Boston
Enjoy hands-on, family-friendly activities, seafood cooking demos, tastings and more. And learn how you can help protect the oceans, too!

We hope that our visitors will be inspired by the variety of solutions already at work in our community and find new ways to join in.

Free and Open to the Public
The best part of World Oceans Day: All activities are free, open to the public and do not require Aquarium admission! NOTE: Aquarium admission is not included in the free activities.

Some of the fun activities include:

• Polar Beverages will be here with a recycling activity. Visitors will have the opportunity to make a planter out of a recycled soda can—complete with soil and seed.

• NOAA will offer a number of whale activities, focusing on Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Learn how to eat like whale, or try on the blubber glove to discover more about these charismatic megafauna.

• W2O will be discussing/raising awareness about Cashes Ledge and Sea Mounts, and the importance of protecting these rare marine habitats.

• Salem State University's Cat Cove Laboratory will be showcasing and discussing mussel aquaculture. Explore how these bivalves can provide good eats while also improving the water quality of our coastline.

• USCG Auxiliary will host a number of water safety activities—just in time for summer boating and beach going!

• Magic 106.7 will be blasting tunes and helping to promote Finding Dory, the newest in Disney's Finding Nemo series.

• Charles River Watershed Association will be showcasing their "watershed in a box" activity. Every wonder where all that rain, those streams and rivers run to? Find out the power of soil filtration as watersheds are discussed

We hope to see you here on Central Wharf June 5!

Duck Tour Contest Details
Our Duck Tour giveaway on Instagram is over. We've reached out to the winners via Instagram. The lucky winners will roll out this Sunday, June 5, at 10:40 am, 11:00 am, and 11:20 am. These shortened tours will start and end at the Aquarium plaza, so they'll be poised to take part in the engaging and educational activities lined up for our Oceans Day festivities.

Thanks to everyone who participated, love seeing how many people love the oceans!

Renowned chef Barbara Lynch demonstrated one of her delicious recipes in a Google+ Hangout! 

The demonstration took place on Thursday, October 18, at 5 p.m. Thanks to everyone who joined us! Here's the recorded video:



What did they cook?
Celebrity chef Barbara Lynch, who recently began a partnership with the Aquarium, is committed to using fresh, local, healthy ingredients, and to children’s nutrition. She is sharing her philosophy and a delicious, easy recipe for gnudi and tomato sauce with the Aquarium's members and fans.

Get the recipes
Here are the recipes Barbara demonstrated.
You can also download them as a PDF (343 KB).

Ricotta Gnudi
Serves 8

1 pound fresh ricotta, drained if very wet
3/4 cup to 1 cup all purpose flour,
plus more as needed
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (optional)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
In a large mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, 3/4 cup

of the flour, the egg, cheese, salt and pepper. Use a wooden spoon to mix ingredients together well. Lightly flour your work surface and a baking sheet for holding the shaped gnudi. With floured hands knead the ricotta mixture briefly; it will be quite wet and sticky at this point. Dump the mixture out onto your work surface. Cut off a piece of the gnudi dough and try rolling it into a 3/4-inch-thick log. If you can’t get it to roll, add a little more flour to the dough and try again. You want as little flour as possible to keep these together so the resulting gnudi will be light and ethereal. Cut the log into 1-inch pieces and then form into little balls. If you have a gnudi board, hold it at a 45-degree angle over your floured baking sheet and roll each ball down the length of it to give the gnudi grooves. As the gnudi nears the end of the board, let it drop onto the baking sheet. If you don’t have a gnudi board, hold a fork, tines facing down, and roll the ball down the length of the tines. Repeat until all of the dough is rolled and cut. Freeze the gnudi for about 1 hour. (Because they are so soft, they are much easier to handle when frozen, so do this even if you plan to use them soon.)

To serve, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a gentle boil. In batches, drop the gnudi into the water and cook until they float, about 1 to 2 minutes. As each batch cooks, remove them with a slotted spoon and keep them warm or transfer them directly to the sauce they are being served with. Serve with Odd Fellow Marinara.

Odd Fellow Marinara
Makes about 4 cups

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, preferably
imported San Marzano tomatoes
Kosher salt
2 or 3 fresh basil leaves
Black pepper, freshly ground

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is just tender but not colored, about 8 minutes. Add the wine, increase the heat to medium-high and cook for a few minutes until it’s reduced by about half. Add the tomatoes with their juices and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stir in the basil and season with a few grinds of pepper and additional salt and red pepper flakes if needed.

Recipe Source: 
Stir: Mixing It Up in the Italian Tradition by Barbara Lynch (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

(Photos: J. Ide)