Monday, June 11, 2018 by

Thousands of visitors celebrated our oceans with us here at the New England Aquarium on Central Wharf for our 2018 World Oceans Day festival.

There were lots of fun activities to help you learn about our blue planet from scientists, researchers, and representatives from our Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life and other like-minded groups.

Visitors could peer through microscopes at tiny organisms, try on a heavy metal diving helmet, enjoy a free cup of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, or try to disentangle fishing rope from a replica whale tale. One future whale rescuer did such a nice job freeing the replica whale, his father deemed he was ready to untangle the Christmas tree lights.

A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor looks through a microscope.
A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor looks at a shark egg.

More pictures from the 2018 World Oceans Day event

  1. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor attaches a tracker on a stuffed shark.
  2. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor.
  3. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor tries a sample of Boxed Water.
  4. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor poses with members of the Rogues Armada.
  5. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor simulates cleaning the oceans.
  6. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor looks over items found on one of the Boston Harbor Islands.
  7. Peter McCarthy of EVOO restaurant prepares a sample dish.
  8. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor poses with the Irving Oil mascot.
  9. A World Oceans Day visitor samples a free cup of Ben & Jerry's ice cream.
  10. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor draws a picture.
  11. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor tries ta match the seal poop sample with which seal created it.
  12. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor looks over the fish at the Red's Best table.
  13. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor tries his skills at untangling the fishing rope from a replica whale tail.
  14. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor is proud of his drawing.
  15. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor operates a ROV.
  16. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor models a diving helmet.
  17. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor talks about ocean conservation.
  18. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor decorates a tote bags in the members activity Make-A-Bag, Take-A-Bag.
  19. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor decorates a tote bags in the members activity Make-A-Bag, Take-A-Bag.
  20. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor decorates a tote bags in the members activity Make-A-Bag, Take-A-Bag.
  21. Some of the messages created at World Oceans Day 2018.
  22. Some of the messages created at World Oceans Day 2018.
  23. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor draws a picture.
  24. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor draws a picture.
  25. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor draws a picture.
  26. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor participates in an activity.
  27. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor participates in an activity.
  28. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor participates in an activity.
  29. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor participates in an activity.
  30. A World Oceans Day 2018 visitor participates in a cleanup activity.
  31. A World Oceans Day 2018 sign
  32. A dish prepared as an example of sustainable seafood at World Oceans Day 2018.
  33. World Oceans Day 2018 visitors participate in an activity.
  35. World Oceans Day 2018 visitors pose with the Irving Oil mascot.

Schedule of Events

11 a.m.-12 p.m. – Member-Exclusive Activity

12:10 p.m. – Sustainable Seafood Demonstration, with Peter McCarthy, Chef and Owner of EVOO restaurant, Cambridge, MA 

  1. Spring Pea Puree recipe
  2. Herbed Bread Crunch recipe
  3. Baked Alaskan Pollock Fillet recipe, fish provided by our partner Gorton’s Seafood, find information on the fish product here
  4. Salsa Verde recipe

1:10 p.m. – Meet Red’s Best: Innovating Boston’s Local Seafood Supply Chain, with Jared Auerbach, Founder of Red’s Best

1:40 p.m. – Climate Change Conversations Made Easy, with Hannah Pickard, Manager, National Network of Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation

2:20 p.m. – Comic Books and Coral Reefs: A Cartoonist’s Guide to Ocean Conservation, with Maris Wicks, science writer and illustrator

2:40 p.m. – Ocean Stewardship Award Ceremony

Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life Presentations

Throughout the event there were presentations by scientists and researchers from the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, including tables featuring:

  • Sharks, including tagging and monitoring them and the climate change work being done at our Quincy location
  • Marine Conservation Action Fund, with games made of recycled material
  • Fur seal hormone activity, based on current research
  • Lobsters, with actual animals in the tent
  • Aerial whale surveillance, featuring a game based on what our scientists see and record during a surveillance flight

Click here to download the daily schedule.

Partners and Sponsors

See highlights from the 2017 World Oceans Day event at the Aquarium.

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