World Oceans Weekend at NY Aquarium

WCS’s New York Aquarium Celebrates World Oceans Day

Saturday and Sunday, June 6 and 7, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Costumed characters from Nickelodeon’s animated preschool TV series, Bubble Guppies, headline the weekend
Activities include meet-and-greets with the aquarium’s expert dive team, crafts, fish printing, and more
Aquarium staff will be available to answer questions about WCS’ New York Seascape local conservation program.

Brooklyn, N.Y. – June 2, 2015 –WCS’s (Wildlife Conservation Society) New York Aquarium will hold a special celebration in advance of the United Nations’ World Oceans Day the weekend of June 6 and 7, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

World Oceans Day celebrates oceans and raises awareness about their environmental importance. Oceans help generate oxygen, regulate climate, and are home to a plethora of marine species that are vital to life on earth.

Throughout the weekend, WCS will educate the public about oceans and the New York Seascape – WCS’s conservation program designed to restore healthy populations of local marine species and protect waters in and around New York City. These waters are important to wildlife and key to the area’s economic and cultural vitality.

The waters surrounding NYC serve as a feeding ground, nursery, and migratory corridor for hundreds of species of aquatic wildlife, many of which are threatened or endangered. One of the most fragile local marine areas that the New York Seascape program covers is the Hudson Canyon, the East Coast’s largest submarine canyon. Located 100 miles off the coast of New York City, it is home to deep-sea corals that provide food and shelter for many species.

But the Hudson Canyon, like many other submarine canyons, is facing serious threats from human activity, including the use of bottom-fishing gear that damages coral communities. Recently, as part of a broad coalition, WCS supporters submitted 13,000 letters, petitions, and drawings asking the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council (MAFMC) to protect coral communities in the mid-Atlantic, including those found in the Hudson Canyon.

World Oceans Day activities at the New York Aquarium include:

Meet-and-greets with Bubble Guppies – Molly & Gil from the popular Nickelodeon TV series will be available both days at the Oceanic Deck at 11 a.m., 1, and 3 p.m.
The Ocean Pledge –A message wall will display personal pledges written by visitors about saving the ocean. Examples of ways to protect the oceans include turning off water faucets when they’re not in use and not littering. (11 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.)
Sea Life on the Beach – New York Aquarium docents will be on site to answer questions about the ocean and its aquatic wildlife at the Sea Life on the Beach cart located on the Coney Island boardwalk outside the aquarium. (2 to 4 p.m., both days.)
Diver Discussions – New York Aquarium divers will be available to interact with visitors, answer questions and offer information about the importance of underwater diving in our oceans. (Two sessions both days: 10 to 10:45 a.m. and 1:30 to 2:15 p.m.)
Turning Trash into Crafts – Members of the aquarium’s Project Ripple club will demonstrate how items can be reused and repurposed as creative art materials rather than being thrown away as trash. (Saturday only; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
Aquatic Art – Crafts such as fish printing and port hole art projects will take place throughout the weekend (11 a.m. to 4 p.m.)

Partners on World Oceans Day at the New York Aquarium are:
WCS New York Seascape
American Littoral Society
Citizens Campaign for the Environment
Coastal Research and Education Society of Long Island
Seatuck Environmental Association

The Wildlife Conservation Society has been helping the world discover and conserve our oceans for more than a century. WCS engages in ocean protection, sustainable fisheries, and marine species conservation across the waters of 23 countries and all five oceans.

On Thursday, June 11, 2015, WCS will host its annual black tie Gala reception and dinner at WCS’s Central Park Zoo. The evening will celebrate WCS’s vital role in protecting vulnerable marine species off the coast of New York and around the globe and provide critical support for WCS’s parks, education, global health, and global conservation programs. For more information or to purchase tables and tickets, visit wcs.org/Gala.

More information about World Oceans Day at the New York Aquarium is available at www.nyaquarium.com.

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) MISSION: WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. VISION: WCS envisions a world where wildlife thrives in healthy lands and seas, valued by societies that embrace and benefit from the diversity and integrity of life on earth. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the power of its Global Conservation Program in more than 60 nations and in all the world’s oceans and its five wildlife parks in New York City, visited by 4 million people annually. WCS combines its expertise in the field, zoos, and aquarium to achieve its conservation mission. Visit: www.wcs.org; http://www.facebook.com/TheWCS; http://www.youtube.com/user/WCSMedia Follow: @thewcs.

Wildlife Conservation Society’s New York Aquarium is open every day of the year. Summer hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Fall/winter/spring hours are 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., daily. Tickets are $11.95 per person (ages 3 & up), and include Aquarium admission plus one admission to the new 4-D Theater; children age 2 and under are admitted free. Fridays after 4 p.m. in the summer and after 3 p.m. in the fall, Aquarium admission is by pay-what-you-wish donation. The aquarium is located on Surf Avenue at West 8th Street in Coney Island. The New York Aquarium is located on property owned by the City of New York, and its operation is made possible in part by public funds provided through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. For directions, information on public events and programs, and other aquarium information, call 718-265-FISH or visit our web site at http://www.nyaquarium.com. Now is the perfect time to visit and show support for the WCS New York Aquarium, a beloved part of Brooklyn and all of the City of New York. Due to Hurricane Sandy we are partially opened. Check our website for more information. www.nyaquarium.com.

Special Note to the Media: If you would like to guide your readers or viewers to a Web link where they can make donations in support of helping save wildlife and wild places, please direct them to wcs.org.

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Barbara Russo
Assistant Director of Communications – Wildlife Conservation Society’s New York Aquarium, Prospect Park Zoo and Queens Zoo
Phone: 718-265-3428
E-mail: brusso@wcs.org
Skype: barbararusso516

Visit the WCS Newsroom for our latest news and information: http://newsroom.wcs.org/