Siletz news /, February 01, 2003, Page 15, Image 15

NOTICES
Oregon Coast Aquarium Hosts
Shark Sleepover Spectacular!
Kids explore the Passages of the Deep exhibit at the Oregon Coast Aquarium.
Aquarium Unveils Expanded 2003
Events Calendar
The Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, Ore., has unveiled its 2003 calendar
of events with a year full of educational and entertaining activities, along with
three new events.
A new “Keeper Encounter” program in June brings visitors behind the scenes
for a morning with the Aviary staff. Youngsters age 4 and 5 are provided a new
Oceans of Fun day camp about marine invertebrates titled “No Bones About ‘Em”
in June and a look at whales, seals, sea lions, and sea otters during “Marine
Mammal Mania” in July. And in October, teachers get their own sleepover while
they spend the night with the aquarium’s fishes, skates, and sharks.
Highlights for the aquarium’s 2003 scheduled events include:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
School Dollar Days have been expanded to include students in all of Lincoln,
Tillamook, Benton, and Polk counties through March 21.
The April Spring Garden & Flower Show and Dive Into Earth Week events
provide eco-friendly activities for the conservation enthusiast.
Scouts take over the aquarium in May during Scout Day, where education stations
and classroom offerings help Boy and Girl Scouts earn their merit badges.
Day camps add special flavor for the summer months, with marine programs
for youngsters of all ages.
Labor Day weekend marks the second annual All-American Road Celebration,
highlighting the variety of activities available along U.S. Highway 101.
The aquarium turns into a haunted house in October during the Creatures of
the Night Halloween party.
In December, thousands of twinkling lights and brightly lit animal figurines
set the stage for Santa’s annual visit and the Sea of Lights holiday festival.
Around-the-clock buffs can attend aquarium sleepovers from February through
November. Groups also may schedule their own sleepover and spend the night
sleeping with the sharks!
Marine Discovery Tours, the aquarium’s official cruise company, offers a
wide range of sea life trips in April, a May Mother’s Day Cruise, and a September
Yaquina Bay Salsa Cruise. The popular Family Sea Camp Aboard the Discovery
returns in July and August, while those with the need for speed and action-packed
adventure trips can get their fill on the faster Oregon Rocket.
Experience the magic of Enchanted Seas while taking a journey into the
mystical world of seahorses, sea dragons, and other magical sea creatures. This
bright new exhibit features murals painted by Michael Cole and displays a
collection of ocean gems, featuring seahorses hanging onto seagrass with their
Do you have a young ocean
enthusiast between the ages of 7 and
11 in your family who would love to
spend the night with sharks swimming
nearby? Maybe they’d like to come eye
to eye with a sea otter or touch the skin
of a shark?
If the answer is “yes,” then sign
them up for the Oregon Coast
Aquarium’s popular sleepover.
Passages of the Deep undersea
adventure is turned into sleepover
headquarters, giving kids a chance to
sleep with the sharks and dream with
the fishes! Participants arrive Feb. 15
at 7 p.m. and go home Feb. 16 at 10 a.m.
Children will have the opportunity
to dress as various marine animals as
they discover the secrets to their
survival. These young scientists will
also learn how to rub shark skin the
“right” way; take a peek at an octopus
beak; and uncover the mysteries of the
big, the bad, and the blubbery world of
marine mammals.
On Saturday evening, children can
explore the indoor galleries on a
scavenger hunt. The next morning,
they’ll eat breakfast before watching the
fishes, invertebrates, birds, and marine
mammals devour theirs.
Children will receive an evening
snack and breakfast. Pre-registration is
required. Cost is $40 for aquarium
members, $35 for P.D. Shark Kids’
Club members, and $45 for non­
members. Space is limited and
participants are asked to register by Feb.
12 by calling 541 -867-3474, ext. 5301.
The Oregon Coast Aquarium
sleepover is made possible through the
generous support of KYTE/KNPT
Radio, Marine Discovery Tours,
Safeway, Shilo Inns and Resorts, the
News-Times,
Spirit
Mountain
Community Fund, KVAL TV 13/
Eugene, KPIC TV 4/Roseburg, KCB Y
TV 11/Coos Bay, and La Quinta Inn
& Suites.
Located just south of Newport's
Yaquina Bay Bridge, the Oregon Coast
Aquarium is a private, non-profit
educational facility that offers people a
fun way to understand Oregon’s unique
coastal resources, so that they and
future generations will cherish and
conserve them. It’s open every day
except Dec. 25. Hours are 10 a.m. to
5 p.m. through Memorial Day weekend.
Oregon Coast Aquarium admission
is $10.75 for adults, $9.50 for seniors
(65*), $6.50 for youth (4-13), and
children 3 and under are free. Advance
tickets can be purchased on-line at
www.aquarium.org or by calling
541-867-FISH. Group rates are
available when requested in advance.
For additional information about
the aquarium, surf www.aquarium.org
or call 541-867-FISH.
prehensile tails, a rainbow of tropical reef fishes flitting among the coral, sea dragons
trailing frilly appendages, cuttlefish hovering like blimps, and children enjoying a
gaze-to-’gator vision of baby American alligators in a crawl-through tank.
Indoors, take a peek “Under the Lily Pad” at the Ocean Exploration Station
for an up-close view of frogs, newts, and salamanders as you discover that there’s
more to a pond than scum and explore the role these soggy spaces play in a
healthy ecosystem. Learn what’s lurking beneath the pond’s surface as you watch
bluegills, compare newts, and salamanders, and search for tree and red-legged
frogs. You’ll be ribbetted!
Outdoors, rugged cliffs, caves, and pools showcase the many fascinating fish
and invertebrates of Oregon’s coastal shores. Discover curious seals, sea lions,
and sea otters and see the cartoonlike tufted puffins and other seabirds make their
homes in one of the largest walk-through aviaries in North America.
Virtual reality comes to the Oregon Coast Aquarium (Memorial Day weekend
2003) with an underwater submarine adventure, where passengers experience
deep-water travel without leaving their seats. The 15-seat “Deep-Sea Traveler”
gives riders the visual effect of going underwater as well as the movement of a
real submarine. The “Deep-Sea Traveler” will be available for visitors during
normal operating hours for a small additional charge and also will be available
for private parties and other after-hours events.
February 2003 □
Siletz News
□
15