Regular Hours
10 a.m.-6 p.m. Daily
Closed Dec. 25
Holidays
9:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
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What's New
Promotions & Events
Get an insider’s view of the Aquarium. Each 50-minute tour will give you a chance to interact with our staff, discover the hidden life of animals and learn about our ocean research. Cost is $10 per person plus admission.
Become a marine scientist for a day and work alongside Aquarium guides, or enjoy a spectacular sunset sail with wine and cheese. You’ll get a unique view of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary aboard the Derek M Baylis, a 65-foot sailboat designed for ocean research.
May 16-17 (Fri.-Sat.)
Join host Alton Brown and 16 Celebrity chefs from around the world for Cooking for Solutions 2008. It's a celebration of fine dining and environmentally sustainable living.
June 7-8 (Sat.-Sun.)
Mark your calendar and join us for our World Ocean Day Celebration. Activities include live music, special guest speakers, auditorium presentations, a skit by El Teatro Campesino, a family craft room, face painting for kids and much more!
June 7 (Sat.)
(8 p.m.-11 p.m.)
$50 member/$65 general public
Join the internationally acclaimed jazz vocalist Kim Nalley and six other musicians for a sultry night of jazz at the Aquarium. Start your evening off on a high note with a gourmet dinner at 6:30 p.m. in the Portola Restaurant. Space is limited and reservations are required.
Buy tickets now online or by phone (800) 840-4880.
June 13 (Fri.)
Noon (Pacific Time)
Join Portola Cafe Executive Chef Dory Ford and Seafood Watch manager Sheila Bowman on June 13 for a video webcast. They'll share tips for choosing and preparing great seafood dishes.
Exhibit Updates
New Stars of Splash Zone: Pacific Spiny Lumpsuckers
Lumpsuckers are tiny animals, often described as “ping-pong balls with fins.” A giant lumpsucker can be five inches long, but most are closer to one inch. They are slow, inefficient swimmers, but they’re very good at attaching themselves to solid objects like rocks or kelp, thanks to a suction cup-like disk on their bellies. Come see our quartet of these cool creatures in the Enchanted Kelp Forest gallery.
Common Murres in Splash Zone
With their white bellies and dark backs, common murres look a lot like penguins. They swim like penguins too—“flying” under water with their short wings. But these amazing birds aren’t even related to penguins! They're pelagic seabirds that spend most of the year at sea. They live in the northern hemisphere, including the Monterey Bay. The next time you visit, be sure to check out the murres in their new Splash Zone home.
Welcome back blackfooted penguins and other favorite animals, such as cuttlefish, clownfish, seahorses and sea dragons. Race to find hidden kelp forest animals and cuddle up in a giant clam. Discover a place where families can explore the ocean together.
The young white shark we released to the wild in February has made it past the southern tip of Baja California and is heading further south. The shark is carrying an electronic tag that lets us track his movement almost on a daily basis.
Take Action for the Oceans
Deadline June 1 (Sun.)
Submit your best ocean photo to our Ocean Action Team’s Second Annual World Ocean Day Photo Contest. Winners will be announced on Friday, June 6. They’ll be featured on the Aquarium’s website and in a future Sea Notes newsletter.
ARAMARK, one of the world’s leading professional facilities management and food service companies, is partnering with Seafood Watch to shift its U.S. seafood purchases toward sustainable sources over the next decade. It’s another big step toward creating market demand that will change fisheries and fish-farming practices around the world.
Common Vision for Sustainable Seafood
The Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions—fourteen conservation organizations across North America, including the Monterey Bay Aquarium—announced an agreement in May on the "Common Vision for Environmentally Sustainable Seafood," highlighting a clear path for achieving sustainability in the seafood industry.
For more information about the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions and the Common Vision, visit www.solutionsforseafood.org.
Our Seafood Watch pocket guides have been updated with the most current information, and are now available on www.seafoodwatch.org. Updates include the new blue + symbols for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified fisheries, and information on which king crabs to buy and which to avoid.
Center for Ocean Solutions
The Monterey Bay Aquarium, Stanford University and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute have joined forces to create the Center for Ocean Solutions—a new collaboration that will bring together international experts in marine science and policy to find innovative ways to protect and restore the world's oceans. www.centerforoceansolutions.org
Aquarium News
Beginning Earth Day, April 22, our Portola Cafe and Restaurant will participate in a national campaign to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and help guests do the same. The Low Carbon Diet, led by Portola’s parent company, Bon Appétit Management Company, will include sourcing ingredients locally or domestically, reducing food waste and disposables, and eliminating air-freighted seafood. In addition, Bon Appétit will introduce the Low Carbon Diet Calculator—a fun, interactive tool to help people learn how their food choices affect climate change.
Deadline May 30 (Fri.)
Students in grades K-12 and college
Express your love for the oceans through art, and become a celebrity! The top entries will advance to the national competition in Washington D.C., and winners of the national competition will have their art work displayed in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
For contest rules and guidelines, visit the Coastal America website.
New Plush Penguins for New Splash Zone
Calling all penguin fans—the Aquarium Gift & Bookstore is introducing new plush penguins made from 100% soy and Kapok, both ecologically sound alternatives to traditional fibers. These penguins can be found only at the Aquarium until June. Contact (877) 665-2665 or giftstore@mbayaq.org for more information or orders.
2008 Official Explorers Announced
Congratulations to Alexa Stefanko of Burlingame, California and Simon Willig of Redwood City, California for being named the Aquarium’s 2008 Official Explorers. Alexa has helped raise funds to save the Coyote Point Museum in San Mateo, California, while Simon is co-creating, “Save Our Seas,” a program for kids who want to teach other kids about ocean conservation.
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"North Atlantic right whales are one of the rarest and most endangered species of whale on our planet. A live birth had never been witnessed until 2005, when a researcher from the New England Aquarium, (doing routine offshore observations) noticed..."
May 01, 2008
Uniting for Change: Center for Ocean Solutions (5.1 mins)
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