Outside Magazine
Ocean Nerds, Check Out These Online Experiences
April 27, 2020
Two years ago, Jerry Schubel, president and CEO of the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, told me, “If you want your kids to care about the ocean, get them to care about the things that live in the ocean.” He invited my four children (ages twelve, nine, four, and one at the time) to the aquarium for a day of petting sharks, feeding sea otters and manta rays, enjoying the company of a precocious two-year-old Magellanic penguin, and shadowing staff as they identified and logged aquatic life sightings aboard Harbor Breeze Cruises.
On that cruise, we fell in love with a family of five fin whales swimming in the ocean. We could hear each whale breathe, and some of us got sprayed in the face by water from their blowholes. Today we still think about their well-being and what we can do to prevent threats to the second-largest species of whales.
Now, with shelter-in-place orders in effect, I wondered how aquariums and ocean-conservation programs would continue sharing these kinds of experiences remotely. Fortunately, the Aquarium of the Pacific and a number of other organizations throughout the country are offering families a variety of engaging activities online.
