Join Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant in celebrating World Oceans Day at the UGA Aquarium on June 8.
As part of the celebration, between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant will offer family-friendly activities including behind the scenes aquarium tours, crabbing off the aquarium dock and hands-on interactions with Georgia sea life.
Visitors will also meet one of the aquarium’s newest additions: Neptune, a 9-month-old loggerhead sea turtle who was recently moved to a public display tank.
Marine educators will hold reptile talks throughout the day with opportunities to interact with live snakes and turtles. They will lead a special “blue crab expo” with interactive educational activities about recreational crabbing in Georgia. Visitors can explore the aquarium’s teaching labs and look at some of the smallest marine organisms through microscopes.
“With events like World Oceans Day we hope to inspire people to enjoy and protect the coast and our oceans,” says Mark Risse, director of Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant. “The aquarium exhibits are a great teaching tool for visitors to learn more about local wildlife and habitats that exist in our estuaries as well as offshore at Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary.”
All World Oceans Day activities are included with general aquarium admission, paid by cash or check. Credit and debit cards are not accepted.
The United Nations designated June 8 World Oceans Day to celebrate human connections to ocean conservation.
World Oceans Day kicks off the summer season at the UGA Aquarium. In June and July, visitors can sign up for a variety of recurring programs taking place on Tuesdays and Thursdays, including family field trips, behind-the-scenes aquarium tours, toddler touch tanks and turtle Tuesdays.
More information available at https://gacoast.uga.edu/events/