Tune in to watch the program at 8:00 pm Wednesday, February 20, 2013!
“The Great Aquarium Treasure Hunt” This educational, live-action, family program follows the fictional students of South Town Middle school on their class field trip through the National Aquarium! But this time there’s a catch – Science Teacher Mr. Hedgeman has turned it into a Treasure Hunt!
Join Dewey and Trevor on a wild exploration of the National Aquarium, home to thousands of species of marine life!
Throughout their journey, the students meet and learn from National Aquarium experts. They explore marine life of the Chesapeake Bay, go “down under” to visit the crocodiles of Australia, discover the frogs in an indoor rain forest and submerge into the Atlantic and Pacific oceans for an up-close look at the array of deep sea life from sharks to rays to dolphins.
In the end, Dewey and Trevor will explore the entire aquarium, but can they be the first team to have all the answers before it’s too late? Tune in to find out!
Check out our exclusive behind-the-scenes photos from the filming below!
A special thanks to all National Aquarium staff who were involved in the filming, especially our amazing on-screen stars: Allison, Beth, Jessica, Kyle and Andy!
In addition to airing on MPT, the program will be played at the Herman & Walter Samuelson Children’s Hospital at Sinai Hospital through its internal cable systems in patient rooms and waiting rooms.
Major funding for The Great Aquarium Treasure Hunt is provided by LifeBridge Health.
Don’t forget to tune in to MPT for the premiere of “The Great Aquarium Treasure Hunt” at 8:00 pm Wednesday, February 20, 2013!
The Kokoe-Pa poison dart frog (also called the harlequin poison dart frog) has become a rarity in captive collections. For the past several years, we have maintained one female (wild caught and arriving at the National Aquarium, Baltimore, in 2001 as a USFWS confiscation) and a male that was born here in 2002.
These frogs are particularly difficult to successfully reproduce, as the tadpoles are obligate egg feeders. After a clutch of eggs are laid, the parents move each tadpole to its own small reservoir of water, usually within a bromeliad plant. The female frog will then return every other day or so to lay unfertilized eggs into the water for the tadpole to feed upon.
Research on other obligate egg-feeding dart frogs suggests that mother frogs may recognize their own tadpoles by specific “begging” behaviors during the process.
New Kokoe-Pa offspring
In 2005 and 2009, we had egg-laying episodes that, unfortunately, did not result in thriving viable young. Our herpetologists have paid particular attention to this species, closely monitoring their enclosure temperature, food supply, supplementation, and use of artificial bromeliads (which tend to decompose and fall apart just before the tadpoles have completed their development and metamorphosed into small froglets).
This year we are happy to report that a 2011 egg-laying event has produced at least two offspring that have hit the 3-month-old mark! They look spectacular and appear to be thriving.
The Kokoe-Pa are housed in a special off-exhibit enclosure while we work on all the details of their husbandry.
Over the years, many have met their mates at the National Aquarium – and we don’t just mean the animals! There is just something about this place that makes people fall in love. From visitors on first dates, to couples getting engaged or tying the knot in front of our exhibits, to staff members falling for each other, love is always in the air. But with more than 16,000 animals living at the Aquarium, love is also in the water!
In honor of the upcoming holiday we humans created to celebrate love, we thought it would be fun to share some tales of animal dating, er, mating at the Aquarium. It’s no secret that the dolphins at the National Aquarium like to reproduce. Since the dolphin pavilion opened in 1999, we’ve had 13 dolphin births. But dolphins aren’t the only animals at the Aquarium with routine mating habits.
The stingrays in our Wings in the Water exhibit are a busy bunch of animals! Over the last few years, dozens of cownose and southern stingray pups have been born in the exhibit. The southern stingrays were reproducing so quickly that the males had to be separated from the females! And apparently there is one female cownose ray that the males find particularly attractive.
And did you know male and female seahorses dance, change color and lock tails for a short swim during courtship? Talk about romantic! After mating, it is the male seahorses that become pregnant and rear the young. They are nature’s true Mr. Moms! Just last January, one of our male seahorses delivered a tiny group of babies into the world.
Frogs and toads do a song and dance to attract their mates! They were the first vocal land-dwellers that use voice almost exclusively to attract a mate. Each species has its own distinctive voice so females do not waste time following the call of another species. Once a female dart frog finds a singing male of her species, he stops singing and initiates a courtship dance! Some species spin in a circle, while others gently stroke the female’s back with his forelegs. If she accepts his advances, she will follow him to an egg-laying site.
Turtles have a ritual of their own. Many aquatic species of turtles are sexually dimorphic (when the male and female of a species look different) in size, and in some cases, males may be half the size of females. The smaller males often have to use elaborate courtship displays in order to romance the females. This could involve swimming ahead of the female and gently stroking her head and neck with the claws of his front feet, or bobbing his head up and down rapidly. We see these behaviors at the Aquarium between Australian red-faced side-necked turtles.
Perhaps the most unusual mating fact is found in the fishes! Some species of fish undergo a sex change as they grow so they can experience mating and reproduction as a male and a female! The California sheepshead, found in our Kelp Forest exhibit, begins life as a female with pink coloration. When it grows to a length of about 18 inches, it transforms into a male.
We should point out that most species of animals pair up with multiple mates throughout their lives, simply for reproduction purposes. But monogamy can exist in the animal kingdom! Our sweetest tale of animal mating at the Aquarium can be found in the Sea Cliffs exhibit. Like many species of birds, puffins are known to form pair bonds, and can remain in those bonds for life. That has certainly been the case for two young adult puffins living at the National Aquarium. It seems as though these two birds were made for each other…
Victor and Vixen came to the National Aquarium in April of 2004 with two other females. Victor had his choice of ladies, but it wasn’t long before he found a match in Vixen. They had their first egg in 2005 but it turned out to be infertile, which is common for many young couples. Just a year later, they had their first chick, Princess, who still lives at the Aquarium, and just last year they came together to raise their second chick, Vinnie. They are great parents. Last year they fed Vinnie so much that he became quite the chunker!
Though they will probably stay paired for life, these birds aren’t on cloud nine all year round. Puffins in the wild usually come together in pairs only to breed, and then separate until the next breeding season. Even though our birds live in the same area year round, the same rule applies. Come spring, Victor and Vixen will start staking their claim on their burrow (they always use the same one on the far left side of the exhibit) by chasing the other birds away!
On any given day you could catch a glimpse of animals mating at the Aquarium. We sure have! Years ago our video team was able to capture amazing footage of two seahorses completing their mating process. What you’ll see below is a quick glimpse of how a female seahorse transfers eggs to the male!
Mother Nature has subtle ways of reminding us that winter is quickly coming to an end. The trees are beginning to bud, and early bulbs are peeking through the earth where just a few weeks ago snow was piled high. Mother Nature is also telling us to listen. Do you hear the birds and frogs singing? Yes, frogs. They are quite good singers!
Frogs are emerging to announce the new season. Each winter frogs go into hibernation. Wood frogs actually freeze, but do not die. As the temperature drops, a wood frog will bury itself. It stops breathing, its heart stops beating, and the water in its body turns to ice. Come spring, these frogs are the first to emerge, as early as February and March, even with ice still on the ponds. Listen for the males calling. It sounds something like quacking or clucking.
The spring peepers are the next group to begin their chorus, and they are extremely vocal. This small frog, the size of a thumb nail, can produce sounds louder than a vacuum cleaner. An entire chorus of peepers (120dB) can top the decibel level of a rock concert (115 dB)! Though nocturnal, the peeper gets its name from its call. It peeps once a second!
Did you know that the poisonous dart frogs at the National Aquarium aren’t really poisonous? Or that there’s a 2.2 pound African bull frog living at the Aquarium?
These fascinating creatures are only a hop away! Don’t miss your last chance to experience the beauty and diversity of some of our favorite amphibian friends in Frogs! A Chorus of Colors. After 3 years at the National Aquarium, this traveling exhibit will close on Sunday, November 2nd as the Frogs hop onto their next location.
With nearly 20 species of frogs and toads in 15 seperate habitats, the exhibit offers a close-up look at these diverse creatures from across the world! Frogs are an important indicator of our evironment’s health. So when you visit, take a moment to learn how the amphibian population is being threatened and simple things you can do to help save these spectacular and important animals.
