Honoring the Aquarium’s ‘hero’

Yesterday the City of Baltimore honored its most beloved mayor and former Maryland governor, William Donald Schaefer with the unveiling of a statue to memorialize his distinguished political career in Maryland. The statue lives in the middle of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, which is fitting since Schaefer’s most notable accomplishment was the transformation of the Inner Harbor from an industrial shipping area to a multi-million dollar tourist attraction and the gem of Baltimore.

The National Aquarium was one of the first additions to the Inner Harbor. In the mid-1970s Mayor Schaefer conceived and championed the idea of an aquarium as a vital component of the redevelopment. William Donald Schaefer is truly the Aquarium’s hero because if wasn’t for him, the National Aquarium may not exist today. Dozens of staff members and volunteers, as well as the Aquarium’s first board president, Frank Gunther, attended the ceremony yesterday to pay tribute to the man who brought our Aquarium to life.

Schaefer’s idea for an aquarium may have been his best idea for the City of Baltimore. In 1976, residents supported the Aquarium by voting for it on a bond referendum, and the groundbreaking for the facility took place August 8, 1978.  The Aquarium’s world-class status was recognized by the United States Congress, which granted the facility national status. The National Aquarium in Baltimore opened to the public exactly three years later on August 8, 1981. Today the Aquarium is huge economic driver for the city and is the most visited destination at the Inner Harbor.

Schaefer is also known for his hilarious dip in the Aquarium’s seal pool, which has turned out to be his most famous photo op! The mayor  lost a bet with a developer who said the National Aquarium would not open on schedule. When the initial date passed, the mayor put on his bathing garb, grabbed a Donald Duck squeaky, and jumped into the seal pool that used to be outside of the Aquarium. The pictures live on in Aquarium history. Many see Schaefer as he is represented in the beautiful new statue, but at the Aquarium, this how we like to remember our hero:

Hallowings and things…

In honor of Halloween, the animal encounters at the National Aquarium have been a bit spooky this week!  We have been introducing some of our slithery, slimy, creepy, crawly animals from the rainforest, and teaching visitors that these animals aren’t as scary as we may think..

One of the encounters includes tarantulas. Scared yet? Don’t be. Though these venomous crawlers are generally thought of as a danger to humans, they do not pose the slightest threat. Tarantulas have venom with the potency comparable to a bee, so their venom is generally not toxic to humans. 

What’s the slimiest creature you can think of? A snake? This preconceived notion about snakes is false! These reptiles are not slimy at all; in fact, they are covered with scales. Snakes have small scales on the top of their body and large scales on the bottom. The large scales, called scutes, help them move their legless bodies. The coloration of their scales helps snakes camouflage themselves in various surroundings. They can blend in with leaves, shadows and even rocks! 

What has six legs and teeth in their stomachs? Give up? Cockroaches! These fascinating creatures have existed for about 300 million years and were found even before dinosaurs! Even though we see them as pests, cockroaches actually do a lot for the earth. In the rainforest at the Aquarium they help spread nutrients from trees to the soil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can find out more about these animals and others at the Hallowings and Things encounters everyday at 10:30 a.m. through November 6th! 

We are also running a special special halloween contest on facebook through Monday. Click here to enter the Hallo-Marine AquaFaces contest! Build your creepiest AquaFace for a chance to win tickets to the National Aquarium’s Baltimore venue.

Happy Halloween!

Climate change, do kids get it?

Climate change is a complex issue that is a major concern to the public. The topic sparks debate and is gaining major attention around the world. Climate change is so popular that it’s this year’s theme for Blog Action Day, an annual web event held on October 15th that unites the world’s bloggers in posting an issue on the same day to trigger discussion.  So today we’d like to share what we know about kids and climate change.

In a recent study done by the Ocean Project, it was found that most people do not associate climate change and carbon pollution with ocean health. When the truth is, climate change is adversely affecting the marine environment in particular—evident through sea level rise, elevated water temperature, coral bleaching, and acidification.

At the Aquarium we spend a lot of time educating visitors on environmental concerns through our exhibits and outreach events, and we also spend a lot of time educating children, and listening to children. We know that general public awareness about the critical role the ocean plays in the Earth’s climate system is low but, strangely, we have found that youth seem to be more connected  to this issue than adults. More importantly, they are committed to understanding and talking about climate change.

Now serving, red lionfish

The National Aquarium’s DC venue recently teamed up with several east coast eateries to introduce a unique sustainable seafood menu item, lionfish, whose taste is distinctive as its story.  

 The Red Lionfish is an invasive species with strong defense mechanisms in its venomous pectoral spines.  It preys on fish, shrimp and crabs and have even been observed feeding on fish more than half their total size!

The National Aquarium’s research team has observed a tenfold increase in lionfish numbers in the Bahamas from 2005 to 2007, with ongoing spread throughout the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.  In 2009, researchers were dismayed to confirm the arrival of the Red Lionfish in the Florida Keys. Ongoing research continues to determine what effects these invaders are having on native marine ecosystems.

At a time when concerned vendors, restaurateurs and diners are seeking sustainable seafood choices, the Red Lionfish may provide a commercial opportunity as well as a means to controlling an invasive species in the Atlantic. With so many fish stocks over exploited, the lionfish offers a great-tasting fillet (similar taste and texture to Tilapia) and a new product for the Atlantic- based fishing industry. 

Wild ocean adventures

It was a wild night  last Thursday at the American Museum of Natural History as the National Aquarium in Washington teamed up with the Smithsonian attraction to premiere the latest IMAX phenomenon, Wild Ocean 3D.    The National Aquarium’s Director of Biological Services, Andy Dehart introduced the immersive, underwater 3D voyage to South Africa, as a captivated audience witnessed the journey of beaching whales, feeding sharks, diving gannets and massive bait balls during their annual migration along the Kwa Zulu Natal Wild Coast. 

The 40-minute adventure captures the annual trek that has been vital to the region’s “circle of life” for countless generations, both at sea and on land.  It is also one that has been threatened by climate change and over fishing. 

Andy Dehart added his own personal experiences in witnessing the circle of life first hand, and his many up close and personal experiences with sharks and thousands of other marine life species.

Do you have any stories of upclose encounters with marine life? If so, please share them with us on our blog! At the Aquarium, we get to experience marine life as a part of our every day jobs and many staff members are often out exploring the oceans, but we’d love to hear how other people have experienced the wonders of marine life. So please share!