What to Know
- Tuesday, June 8
- The Long Beach aquarium will feature a 12-hour livestream on TikTok
- Go beneath the waves and visit the Tropical Reef Habitat, watch the care and feeding of penguins, and learn about sharks
Stopping a shark, out in the ocean, to ask a few quick questions?
That's definitely not going to happen, for several reasons, starting with the fact that the shark has its laser-focused plans and you likely have yours.
Spending an hour with every sea lion you see from the beach or a bluff? Again, that's asking a lot. They've got diving to do, and other sea-lion-y errands, and you, as a landlubber, shouldn't interrupt their flow.
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Good news, however: Aquariums have a wonderful knack for bridging our knowledge gaps, of connecting us with the gill-rocking, fin-fantastic critters we love, and of helping humans to understand the Big Water on a smaller, oh-I-get-it scale.
World Ocean Day, which is celebrated at the Aquarium of the Pacific and at aquatic institutions well beyond the aquarium's Long Beach base, has become known for illuminating The Delightful Deep's most urgent issues for those of us who don't reside beneath the waves.
And the Aquarium of the Pacific will again shine that light for a full half day on June 8, which is, yes, World Ocean Day.
It all starts at 7 a.m., on TikTok, which is where 12 hours of penguin-perfect, reef-tastic programming will roll out.
A visit to the aquarium's Tropical Reef Habitat is on the schedule, as is a chance to watch keepers feed the destination's adorable penguins.
Oh yes: And "undulating" sea jellies will make cameos of a downright cosmic nature, too.
Online classes, too, will dot the June 8 schedule, including the Draw With Us class, an art-fun event created for kindergarteners and older kids, too (all the way up through fifth grade).
And if you'd like to call upon the aquarium, in person, on World Ocean Day? Both the indoor and outdoor areas are open to visitors, but do secure your admission in advance.
The virtual to-dos, by the by, are free to watch, if you'd like to check out the cheerful otters, sleek sharks, and wondrous ocean-related programming from home.
