Aquarium hosting outdoor ice sculpture of nurse shark and rays for Boston Waterfront Ice Sculpture Stroll on New Year’s Eve

BOSTON, MA (December 22, 2025) – The New England Aquarium’s ice sculpture for Boston Harbor Now’s annual Waterfront Ice Sculpture Stroll on New Year’s Eve will feature a carving of a nurse shark surrounded by rays and various tropical fish. The sculpture, made of 46 blocks of ice weighing 13,880 pounds, will represent the Aquarium’s resident nurse shark, Cirri, and nod to the organization’s long-running research on nurse shark mating. Don Chapelle of Brilliant Ice Sculpture in North Andover will carve the sculpture live on Monday, December 29, which the public is invited to attend.

Two years ago, Cirri joined the Aquarium’s Giant Ocean Tank population as the first nurse shark to be in the Aquarium’s care since 2012. While guests can observe Cirri’s natural behaviors and witness daily training sessions that support her health and well-being, scientists in the Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life continue groundbreaking research on wild shark populations. As one example, scientists are involved in long-term research of a nurse shark breeding ground in the Dry Tortugas off the coast of Florida. This three-decade study has revealed that individual nurse sharks return to the same mating sites for up to 28 years and live well into their 40s, far longer than previously believed.

This year’s ice sculpture celebrates both the species’ ecological importance as reef inhabitants and the Aquarium’s comprehensive approach to shark conservation—from hands-on care that educates millions of visitors to field research that informs habitat protection policies for these vulnerable animals facing threats from overfishing, pollution, and climate change.

“After nearly two decades of creating sculptures for the New England Aquarium’s New Year’s Eve celebration, I’ve seen firsthand how this organization inspires people to care about ocean conservation,” said Chapelle. “This year’s piece will represent the Aquarium’s incredible care and research and help bring people together on the waterfront to celebrate our ocean.”

Chapelle has created many massive ice sculptures for the Aquarium over the years, including North Atlantic right whales, sharks, penguins, sea lions, octopuses, and more. He began this year’s ice sculpture in his studio in North Andover. Using powerful and highly accurate ice sculpting tools, he makes intricate designs in pieces of ice. Chapelle stores these pieces in a freezer in his studio that gets down to 12 to 15 degrees before delivering them to the Aquarium, where he assembles the work of art and finishes his carving.

The public is invited to the carving from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Dec. 29 and to celebrate New Year’s Eve on Boston’s waterfront. The Aquarium is one of more than 30 locations participating in the free Waterfront Ice Sculpture Stroll on Dec. 31. Visitors can interact with the Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center scientists and Animal Care staff from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. An interactive map and information on participating companies and organizations are available at bostonharbornow.org/nye.

MEDIA CONTACT: Pam Bechtold Snyder—617-686-5068; psnyder@neaq.org