Date Night Giveaway!

Spring is here and romance is in the air! Looking for a unique, inspiring place to spend a romantic evening with your special someone?

Today, the National Aquarium is giving its Twitter followers the chance to win a pair of tickets to our romantic Spring Date Night on May 24 by participating in a special #ROEmantic Twitter Contest!

From 9 a.m. ET through 3:30 p.m. ET today, Wednesday, May 16, post a tweet telling us something romantic you’ve done for your loved one. One random entry will win two tickets to our Spring Date Night on May 24!

Here are the instructions:
1) Follow the National Aquarium on Twitter at @NatlAquarium
2) Tweet us about something romantic you’ve done for your loved one (can be text or multimedia) to @NatlAquarium and include the hashtag #ROEmantic

Contest closes at 3:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May 16, 2012. A winner will be announced at approximately 4:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May 16, 2012. Entrants must be 21 or older to win.

So what are you waiting for?! Show some love and win two tickets for a ROEmantic night out at the Aquarium!

Click here to find out more about our May Date Night!

“The Office” Star Angela Kinsey and Sustainable Chef Barton Seaver visit the National Aquarium

Seafood fraud is an important issue that hurts our oceans, our wallets, and our health. Last night, at National Aquarium, Washington, DC, guests learned about seafood fraud with experts from Oceana, the National Aquarium, and two very special guests, actress and activist Angela Kinsey and sustainable chef and author Barton Seaver.

Speakers, including Barton Seaver and Angela Kinsey, informed guests about the importance of stopping seafood fraud

Guests had the opportunity to participate in a special seafood tasting prepared by Chef Xavier Deshayes, executive chef at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, showcasing how easily species can be substituted.

Can you tell which fillet is mislabeled?

In a recent report, Oceana found that while 84% of the seafood eaten in the United States is imported, only 2% is currently inspected, and less than 0.001% specifically for fraud. Recent studies have also found seafood may be mislabeled as often as 25–70% of the time for fish like red snapper, wild salmon, and Atlantic cod, disguising species that are less desirable, cheaper, or more readily available.

“As a mother and a seafood consumer, I want to know what I’m putting on the dinner table for my family,” said Kinsey.

This reception followed a full day for Angela and Barton. The team traveled with Oceana through Washington, DC, with stops including a Hill briefing at the Capitol Visitor Center, where they called on Congress to pass pending legislation aimed at fighting seafood fraud and illegal fishing.

Click here to find out more about seafood fraud and Oceana’s new campaign.

National Aquarium CEO John Racanelli and sustainable chef & author Barton Seaver

The foundation of the National Aquarium’s mission to inspire conservation of the world’s aquatic treasures is public awareness and education. Choosing sustainable seafood is an easy and impactful action every consumer can take for the future health of our ocean. Like Oceana and our honored guests, we strive to provide opportunities to share knowledge about thoughtful seafood choices with programs like our Fresh Thoughts sustainable seafood dining series.

What It’s Like to Intern at the Aquarium: Part 1

by Morgan Randall, Digital Marketing Intern

Ever wonder what it’s like to intern at the National Aquarium?  Take a moment to imagine it…Let me guess, you’re thinking that it would involve directly working with the fish and animals in the exhibits.  Well, it does for some, but there is so much more that goes into running an aquarium.  That’s why college students in various areas of studies have the opportunity to gain valuable experience with the organization. In fact, a graphic design student can obtain just as much experience as a biology student, working as an aquarist.

As an intern myself, working in the Digital Marketing Department and majoring in communication arts, I know firsthand how important the jobs behind the scenes are for the organization.  Since working with the aquarium, I have assisted with the launch of their new website (which included writing some of the descriptions for the Events & Activities page), edited entries for the blog, and wrote for the blog as well.

But I’m not the only intern who has found working at the aquarium to be an enriching experience.  The interns below have had similar experiences.  Take a look!

Tyler Littleton

Aquarist

Tyler is a senior at Stevenson University majoring in biology.  He came to the aquarium knowing that it would fit well with what he wanted to do in the future.

While at the aquarium, Tyler learned about all that went into taking care of the fish in his section.  This included food prep, feedings, water changes, aiding with moving the fish, and other tasks.  Tyler was responsible for the fish in the Lurking, Occupying, Migrating and Sensing exhibits in the aquarium as well as the Lobby reef.  He said that he quickly got to the point where he could care for these fish without a supervisor.

Tyler Littleton feeding fish behind the scenes

Besides making sure the fish were well kept, he conducted research on the chambered nautilus for his senior research project.  The project had to do with the husbandry of the animal, which he found didn’t exist in the scientific community.  After graduating, Tyler wants to work for an aquarium or do some type of open water excursion, performing population studies and fish collection.

Annelise Murphy

Events & Promotions

Annelise is a junior at Towson University majoring in mass communications, double tracking in public relations and advertisement, and minoring in English.  She was attracted to the idea of working for a company with such an extensive conservation and eco-friendly incentive.

Annelise Murphy

When she is not researching for an event, she can be found writing and making edits to blogs, helping with the aquarium’s social media platforms, environmental scanning, and seeing where the aquarium’s been showing up in the news.  Annelise is interested in both event planning and advertisement, but is open to testing the waters with other areas within the communications field.  She plans on doing another internship in the near future in order to get more insight on her intended career endeavors.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our What It’s Like to Intern at the Aquarium series!

Interested in interning at the National Aquarium? Learn more here.

Animal Updates – May 11

Between our Baltimore and Washington, DC, venues, more than 17,500 animals representing 900 species call the National Aquarium home. There are constant changes, additions, and more going on behind the scenes that our guests may not notice during their visit. We want to share these fun updates with our community so we’re bringing them to you in our weekly Animal Update posts!

Check our WATERlog blog every Friday to find out what’s going on… here’s what’s new this week!

New baby Alligators

We’ve added four new young American Alligators to our Florida Everglades exhibit!

Our alligators are target trained for feedings. Typically, we have two alligators that are trained to respond to a yellow target and two that are trained to respond to a red target. When they touch the appropriate target they get a food reward. This makes feeding a lot safer for the animal care staff as well as for the alligators, and also ensures that each animal is getting the right amount of food.

Watch this short video to learn more about target training!

The American alligator was once nearly extinct. In the 1970s, strict hunting regulations were put in place to protect the remaining alligators, and they are no longer endangered. As it is our mission to inspire conservation of the world’s aquatic treasures, we are excited to have these alligators on exhibit to help educate our guests.

Be sure to check back every Friday to find out what’s happening!

Thoughtful Thursdays: Students Restoring Wetlands

Recently, the Aquarium Conservation Team (ACT!) traveled to Snow Hill, MD, to help restore a rare freshwater wetland at Nassawango Creek Preserve. Through an ongoing partnership with The Nature Conservancy and Worchester County schools, local students and community volunteers planted 700 Atlantic white cedar saplings and 700 shortleaf pine trees in two days.

The students have spent the last year caring for and monitoring the Atlantic white cedar trees in their schoolyard. In the fall, the students repotted the saplings and placed them in their schools’ wet frame pond. Throughout the year, they have watered the trees and monitored their growth. Under the students’ care, the trees flourished and this month were ready to be planted!

Nasswango Creek Preserve, the restoration site, encompasses more than 10,000 acres and is owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy. Through controlled burns, regular planting events, and other best management practices, The Nature Conservancy hopes to restore the freshwater wetlands that once dominated the Preserve. Students also had the opportunity to experience another rare habitat within the preserve when they planted the shortleaf pine trees among ancient sand dunes.

With beautiful weather and dozens of eager volunteers, the project finished ahead of schedule! The students enjoyed planting the trees they had raised and were amazed to see their trees at home in their natural habitat.