Amazing Experiences Sweepstakes – Be the FIRST to See Blacktip Reef and Meet the Animals!

One lucky winner of our Amazing Experiences Sweepstakes will get a behind-the-scenes, “hard hat” tour of our new Blacktip Reef exhibit BEFORE it opens to the public this summer!

ENTER OUR SWEEPSTAKES NOW!

Blacktip Reef will be a vibrant, action-packed exhibit, replicating an Indo-Pacific coral reef!

In preparation for this exciting new addition to our Baltimore venue, we have been caring for new blacktip reef sharks and wobbegong sharks, in addition to our beloved 400 lb. sea turtle Calypso and zebra sharks Zeke and Zoe! Our new exhibit will also be home to a multitude of tropical fish and rays.

This vibrant Napoleon wrasse is just one of the many new fish in Blacktip Reef!

As part of our sweepstakes, one lucky winner (and up to three friends) will receive a “hard hat” tour of the exhibit space, as well as a behind-the-scenes tour of our Animal Care Center to meet some of the new animals!

In addition, our winner will also get to see how our salt water is made and tested and visit our coral fabrication shop, where we are currently creating pieces for Blacktip Reef.

Behind-the-scenes testing coral

There are five great ways to be entered to win! 

• Purchase any full price ticket online for a December visit
  
• Make a donation of $25 or more
• Purchase or renew your membership online
• Buy a gift ticket online
• Adopt an Animal

Click here to find out all the details about our Amazing Experiences Sweepstakes!

Stay tuned for more features on our once-in-a-lifetime sweepstakes prizes! Winners will be announced on our Facebook page starting December 17!

Blacktip Reef Update: Meet the Animals!

We cannot wait for our new exhibit, Blacktip Reef, to open in summer of 2013! This coral-filled exhibit, replicating an Indo-Pacific ocean habitat, will feature 15 exciting species including blacktip reef sharks, reticulated whiptail rays, and ornate wobbegong sharks. It will also be the new home for some of our most beloved animals, including our 400-pound green sea turtle Calypso, and zebra sharks Zeke and Zoe. Guests will be able to experience this lively reef from many vantage points, including a new floor-to-ceiling pop-out viewing window that allows you to virtually step inside the exhibit.

It’s a long journey to opening day. Between animal transports, exhibit demolition, new construction, and habitat fabrication, as well as the acquisition of new animals, we’ll have a lot to update you on leading up to next summer. As we continue to build the future home of Blacktip Reef, stay tuned to learn about new changes here on our WATERblog!

Our teams have been busy all over the Aquarium preparing for Blacktip Reef! Animal care is our number one priority, so one of the biggest jobs is caring for the animals that will soon be added to the new exhibit.

Beginning in summer 2013, guests will be able to  see new animals like blacktip reef sharks, reticulated whiptail rays, ornate wobbegong sharks and napoleon wrasse!

Napoleon wrasse

The namesake animal of the new exhibit, the blacktip reef shark, is a smaller shark species that can grow to about 6 feet in length and bears distinctive black tips on its fins. Blacktip reef sharks are found in the shallow waters of the Indo-Pacific, hanging around reefs to feed. These sharks are sleek, beautiful, fast-moving, and hunt cooperatively in groups.

Blacktip reef shark

These facinating new species will be joined by some of National Aquarium’s most beloved animals, including Calypso, our 400-pound green sea turtle, and zebra sharks Zeke and Zoe!

Calypso

Watch this video to learn more about the amazing animals that will be living in Blacktip Reef: 

Below are some of the other amazing species that will be joining our Blacktip Reef family!

• Blotched fantail ray (Taeniurops)
• Blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus)
• Bluefin trevally (Caranx melampygus)
• Bluestripe seaperch (Lutjanus kasmira)
• Clown triggerfish (Balistoides conspicillum)
• Emperor angelfish (Pomacanthus imperator)
• Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas))
• Reticulate whipray (Himantura uarnak)
• Napoleon wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus)
• Ornate wobbegong (Orectolobus ornatus)
• Tasselled wobbegong (Eucrossorhinus dasypogon)
• Potato cod (Epinephelus tukula)
• Semicircle angelfish (Pomacanthus semicirculatus)
• Spotted unicornfish (Naso brevirostris)
• Zebra shark (Stegostoma fasciatum)

Stay tuned for more Blacktip Reef updates! 

Why We’re Thankful for SHARKS!

Our blue planet has been inhabited by sharks for more than 420 million years. We now have close to 500 different species of sharks ranging in size from the dwarf lanternshark (only about 6 inches in length) to the whale shark (the largest fish in the world)!

Although they have become the subject of the international phenomenon otherwise known as Discovery Channel’s Shark Week (which boasted an average of 27 million viewers last year), there is still so much to learn about these amazing creatures.

The very interesting tasselled wobbegong shark – coming to our new Blacktip Reef exhibit in summer 2013!

In honor of our mission to inspire conservation of the world’s aquatic treasures, we hope to educate our visitors and community about the misconceptions surrounding these amazing animals.

To get to know more about our sharks, we sat down with one of our shark caretakers, Alan Henningsen:

National Aquarium: How long have you been working with sharks? 

Alan Henningsen: I’ve been working alongside sharks for 32 years.

NA: What is your favorite shark species? 

AH: It’s hard to say! My favorite animal is by far the sawfish, which is actually a species of ray.

A sand tiger shark cruises slowly above sawfish in our Shark Alley exhibit.

I have worked with lemon sharks a lot over the years. Actually, the sand tiger sharks and sandbar sharks are my favorite.

The sand tiger sharks get up close and personal with visitors in our Shark Alley exhibit.

NA: What are your daily duties caring for the National Aquarium sharks? 

AH: My day-to-day duties include observing and recording behavior, maintaining the exhibit (e.g. lighting and cleaning), preparing food and feedings.

NA: How many sharks do you care for? 

AH: In our Shark Alley exhibit, I am currently caring for 10 large sharks (5 sand tiger, 2 sandbar and 3 nurse sharks), and 3 rays (2 freshwater sawfish and 1 roughtail ray).

NA: What’s your favorite fun fact about sharks? 

AH: That’s another tough one! I think the diverse way in which sharks reproduce is fascinating. From internal fertilization to asexual conception, sharks display a diverse array of reproduction cycles.

Want to get up close and personal with our amazing sharks and rays to learn even more about these species? Lucky for you, we are hosting a Shark Sleepover on Friday, November 23. Bring the out-of-town family too (we can almost guarantee it will make you the coolest member of your family).

What species of animal are YOU most thankful for this year? Tell us in the comments section below!

Blacktip Reef Update: Construction

We cannot wait for our new exhibit, Blacktip Reef, to open in summer of 2013! This coral-filled exhibit, replicating an Indo-Pacific ocean habitat, will feature 15 exciting species including blacktip reef sharks, reticulated whiptail rays, and ornate wobbegong sharks. It will also be the new home for some of our most beloved animals, including our 400-pound green sea turtle Calypso, and zebra sharks Zeke and Zoe. Guests will be able to experience this lively reef from many vantage points, including a new floor-to-ceiling pop-out viewing window that allows you to virtually step inside the exhibit.

It’s a long journey to opening day. Between animal transports, exhibit demolition, new construction, and habitat fabrication, as well as the acquisition of new animals, we’ll have a lot to update you on leading up to next summer. As we continue to build the future home of Blacktip Reef, stay tuned to learn about new changes here on our WATERblog!

The past few months have been extremely busy for teams all over the Aquarium! Now that Wings in the Water  has been drained, we have transitioned into full-force construction of our new exhibit space and necessary upgrades of our life-support unit.

The exhibit space has now been drained and prepped for construction!

To protect our guests and animals from noise, odors and dust associated with construction, we’ve built a lid and temporary walls to cover the entire construction area.

This lid separates our visitors and animals from the work happening down below.

Demolition of parts of the tank have been completed, including the uncovering of the deep dive area that will give guests the opportunity to see more of the new reef. This area mimics reefs in the wild that often have deep pockets, where animals can explore and make their new home!

We’ve removed all of our old acrylic windows from the exhibit space. The construction team is now focused on preparing that area to house our new floor-to-ceiling pop-out viewing window that will give guests the opportunity to step inside the exhibit and come face-to-face with the animals!

An artistic rendering of the floor-to-ceiling pop-out window!

Watch this video to learn more about our recent changes: 

Stay tuned for more Blacktip Reef updates! 

Animal Update – September 7

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

Animal transports completed in preparation for Blacktip Reef! 

All of our animals have been moved from Wings in the Water so that renovations can begin on the exhibit space! A tarpon and hogfish were moved to their new home within the Aquarium, the Atlantic Coral Reef exhibit. On Monday, our team moved Zeke, Zoe and Calypso to their temporary home behind-the-scenes in our animal care facility.

Calypso getting ready for the big move on Monday!

Additionally, the lionfish habitat next to Wings in the Water was permanently broken down. Our lionfish were given to the Newport Aquarium in Kentucky. The Sargassum triggerfish, queen angelfish, spotfin butterflyfish and blue tang from this tank can also now be seen in our Atlantic Coral Reef exhibit. 

A staff member carefully cleaning out the lionfish reef tank

For more on our changes in preparation for Blacktip Reef, check out our recent update!

New additions in Maryland: Mountains to the Sea exhibit 

Black sea bass, black drum and winter flounder fish have been added to our Atlantic Shelf gallery.

Stop by our Atlantic Shelf tank to get a good look at our new black sea bass!

We have a new baby! 

We are so proud to welcome a new addition to the Upland Tropical Rain Forest exhibit – a Linne’s two-toed sloth was born in late August! The baby is the first born to Ivy, one of the four sloths in the exhibit, and is the third sloth born at National Aquarium.

Can you spot the baby sloth? Ivy and her new infant are free roaming the Rain Forest exhibit and will be particularly good at hiding in the trees for at least a few weeks.

To find out more about our newest addition, click here.

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