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New England Aquarium

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The New England Aquarium is a global leader in ocean exploration and marine conservation. With more than 1.3 million visitors a year, the Aquarium is one of the premier visitor attractions in Boston and a major public education resource for the region.

06/20/2026

A little rainbow-themed enrichment for Gio and Farley! 🌈

Using boomer balls, car wash mats, and firehose, our Animal Care team created a colorful enrichment setup for the sea lions to explore. Boomer balls are durable enrichment toys with openings that can be filled with fish, encouraging natural foraging behaviors as animals investigate and work to retrieve their treats.

Enrichment helps keep animals engaged by promoting exploration, problem-solving, and play, and adding a rainbow of colors made it even more fun!

06/19/2026

Today, on Juneteenth, we honor and celebrate resilience, liberation, and the ongoing pursuit of equity and justice.

Last weekend, we were happy to sponsor a table at "Juneteenth Joy" in Hyde Park organized by Together Hyde Park and Forum FREEE. The event’s theme was Dance, Dance, Dance - The Diaspora! and included many performances and free activities.

Our Aquarium team connected with attendees through ocean-themed activities, games, and more. We were glad to join in celebrating Black joy, building real connections, and sharing our mission for a healthy, vibrant ocean for everyone.

06/18/2026

✨ Partners in Conservation: Protecting Sharks, Rays, and Chimaeras with Fishing Communities in Brazil ✨

📆 Thursday, June 25 2026 | 6:30 p.m.
📌 Aquarium's Simons Theatre or via live stream
🎟️ Admission is free, registration is required

Register: https://bit.ly/49wqGSO

The Lowell Lecture Series at the New England Aquarium presents marine scientist and conservation leader Ingrid Hyrycena, Founder & CEO of Projeto Tubarão. Hyrycena is also a Fellow with the New England Aquarium’s Marine Conservation Action Fund (MCAF), a small grants and fellowship program that supports community-based projects led by local conservation leaders in low- and middle-income countries around the world.

For the past decade, Hyrycena’s work in Brazil has focused on protecting sharks, rays, and chimaeras in a country ranked among the top 20 nations for fishing, trade, and meat consumption of these species. Through building trusting partnerships with artisanal fishing communities, she integrates fishers’ traditional ecological knowledge with scientific research to co-create sustainable strategies that reduce fishing impacts on vulnerable species.

Hyrycena will also share her work as Field Research Lead in Brazil for the ICONIC Oceans initiative, led by Minorities in Shark Sciences (MISS), which advances equity and representation in shark sciences while supporting research and conservation efforts.

Join us to learn how working collaboratively within fishing communities is reshaping shark conservation in Brazil.

This New England Aquarium Lowell Lecture Series event is presented through the generosity of the Lowell Institute. This event is free, but advance registration is required. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and the program starts at 6:30 p.m.

06/17/2026

When a South African penguin rescue organization put out a call for help, we answered! 🐧💙

Earlier this year, the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB saves seabirds) was inundated with African penguin eggs and newly hatched chicks and needed all the extra help they could get. Aquarium penguin trainer Diana was one of the many people who answered that call.

As part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' (AZA) SAFE African Penguin program, the Aquarium participates in an international effort to protect wild African penguin populations, and collaborating with SANCCOB on the ground in South Africa is an important part of that work.

During her two weeks at SANCCOB’s nursery, Diana helped feed, monitor, and care for hundreds of chicks destined for release back into the wild. The experience offered a firsthand look at the immense effort required to protect African penguins, a critically endangered species facing threats from overfishing and climate change.

We're proud to support global conservation efforts that help African penguins thrive in the wild and grateful to staff like Diana who share their expertise to make a difference.

Learn more about Diana’s experience and how SANCCOB is helping protect African penguins from extinction: https://bit.ly/3Qq3grM

06/16/2026

Questions for our Sea Turtle Hospital biologists: part 1!

To celebrate World Sea Turtle Day, we're putting our biologists in the spotlight and asking them some of the questions we've received most often in our comments over the years.

In this first video, they're answering:
• What species of sea turtle is this?
• What do you want people to know about sea turtles?

Stay tuned for part 2, where they'll tackle even more of your sea turtle questions.

Happy World Sea Turtle Day!🐢 🎉

06/15/2026

✨ Women of the Tides: Stories of Labor, Sea, and Survival ✨

📆 Wednesday, June 24 2026 | 5:30 p.m.
📌 Aquarium's Simons Theatre
🎟️ Admission is free, registration is required

Register: https://bit.ly/4xvDnYf

Join journalist Heidi Shin and artist Anita Yip at the New England Aquarium for an evening that brings together sound, photography, storytelling, and an immersive collective audio experience.

Based on Shin’s first-hand reporting, the program invites audiences into the world of South Korea’s Jeju haenyeo—legendary elder free-divers who were matriarchs, breadwinners, and the backbone of the island’s economy. As this disappearing tradition faces the pressures of commercial fisheries and a changing ocean, we will listen, respond, and reflect together on the changing expectations around women and work in our society.

The evening will also feature first-hand stories about diving with the haenyeo, a Q&A, and a shared art-making experience where audience members are invited to contribute to a community archive about labor, care, and survival.

Marking the 10th anniversary of UNESCO’s recognition of Jeju haenyeo culture as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, this free public program is organized by the Korean Cultural Society of Boston and Project Asian Joy. Korean and Cantonese interpretation and light refreshments will be provided.

This free event is made possible in part by the Lowell Institute and the Innovation Harbor Grant Program.

06/12/2026

If you can believe it, today marks Myrtle's 56th anniversary at the Aquarium! 🐢🎉

Experts estimate Myrtle is between 76 and 96 years old, which means she was around before the moon landing, before the Beatles broke up, and long before the internet!

For 56 years, Myrtle has been the beloved star of the Giant Ocean Tank, inspiring generations of Aquarium visitors and helping people connect with the ocean.

Want to learn more about her incredible story? Check out our "Aquarium Celebrity Spotlight" on our News & Stories page: https://bit.ly/4v75paX

We love you, Myrtle! Here's to 56 amazing years, and many more to come!

06/11/2026

Sea turtles might not be the fastest on land, but underwater, they have some serious shell power! 🐢⚡

Sea turtles have a super-streamlined shell that helps them glide smoothly through the water. They usually cruise along at about one to three miles per hour when they’re swimming or migrating. It might not sound speedy, but these turtles can keep going for miles and miles across the open ocean!

Data from some of our tagged turtles has shown that many of our rehabilitated turtles travel over 800 miles after release, sometimes in around just 3 months!

06/10/2026

POV: you can't feed turtles without your lucky hat! 🧢

Sasha and Aidan are two of our Tuesday volunteers at our Sea Turtle Hospital, and Aidan has a very specific good luck charm when it comes to feeding rehabilitating sea turtles. Honestly, it seems to be working. 😆

Together, Sasha and Aidan help administer vitamins, prepare meals, and provide enrichment (like veggie pops!) to the turtles in our care as they continue their rehabilitation journey ahead of release this summer. And of course, Aidan always has his lucky turtle hat on standby!

Happy Sea Turtle Week! May you all wear your lucky sea turtle gear this week!

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1 Central Wharf
Boston, MA
02110

Website

http://www.neaq.org/

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