Waikikii Aquarium Announces 2012 Family Fun Events/Activities

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Waikikii Aquarium Announces 2012 Family Fun Events/Activities
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FAMILY FUN AT THE WAIKIKI AQUARIUM

Honolulu, Hawai’i (January 27, 2012) – Make 2012 a fintastic year filled with keiki and family activities at the Aquarium inspired by fascinating marine life! The 2012 schedule includes:

1) Whale Wednesdays
February 1, 3 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
February 8,15, 22 @ 10 a.m.- 11:30 a.m.
February 29, 2012 @ 3 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Each Wednesday during the month of February, keiki and family are invited to the
Waikiki Aquarium for a day of learning and fun. The National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will sponsor activities, educational talks and
other events that help educate the public about Hawaii’s Humpback Whales

Guests will also enjoy an educational film, Wake of Giants which will be played in
the Aquarium theatre. The event is free with daily admission.

2) 5th Annual Aloha Koi Society Koi Show
Saturday, February 18, 2012 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, February 19, 2012 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Don’t be coy! Join the Waikiki Aquarium for the 5th Annual International Koi show, featuring hundreds of top-quality Koi. The event will include educational seminars, keiki activities, and live entertainment. Bring the family to join in all the fun and celebrate Japan’s national fish. The event is free with daily admission.

3) Sea Hunt
Saturday, March 31, 2012 8:30 a.m. to noon

Celebrate the Easter season at the Aquarium’s 17th Annual Sea Hunt! Keiki will hunt for sea-sonal pieces to complete a marine life puzzle while learning about underwater creatures. They will also have the opportunity to participate in a fishpond game, craft activities, and a pick with the Easter Bunny. For Friends of Waikiki Aquarium (FOWA) members this event is $5 per participating child. Non-FOWA members are $15 per participating child. Fishpond vouchers are $2 per ticket. Advance reservations are recommended; however registration will be at the door.
4) “Mauka to Makai” (Earth Day)
Saturday, April 14, 2012 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

The City & County of Honolulu and State of Hawaii Department of Health will celebrate Earth Day at Waikiki Aquarium. This family-friendly event will have hands on educational displays and showcase more than 20 city, state, and federal agencies that are aimed to preserve and protect Hawaii’s environment. There will be an emphasis on the Island’s unique water resources from mauka to makai. The event is free with admission to the Aquarium.

5) Seasons in the Sea
Wednesday, May 2, 2012 6:00 p.m. (sunset observance)

Learn about Hawaiian cultural traditions during Seasons in the Sea, a ceremony marking the official changing of the seasons in Hawaii. The sunset observance will take place from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.

6) World Ocean Day
Wednesday, June 8, 2012 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

In celebration of World Ocean Day, Waikiki Aquarium will clean marine debris and educate the community about the dangers of ocean pollution. The event will provide an opportunity for everyone to get involved with keeping our oceans clean. Guests will enjoy interactive activities and educational displays.

7) Ke Kani O Ke Kai
Thursday, June 14, 2012 6:00-8:30 p.m.
Thursday, June 28, 2012 6:00-8:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 12, 2012 6:00-8:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 26, 2012 6:00-8:30 p.m.
Thursday, August 9, 2012 6:00-8:30 p.m.

The annual summer concert series will feature popular local artists performing live on the Aquarium lawn. This is the perfect event for family and friends of all ages. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the concert begins at 7:00 p.m. The aquarium galleries will remain open throughout the evening. For tickets, please call the Honolulu Box Office at (808) 550-8457

8) Family Night
Friday, August 24, 2012

Families and new members of all ages are invited to enjoy an evening of hands-on fun at the Aquarium. Guests can partake in games and activities including a scavenger hunt through the exhibits. In between activities, enjoy the warm summer evening and picnic on the lawn. It's fun for the whole family. 10/person ($12 for non-members). All ages welcome; children 2 and under are free. Registration required.

9) Ocean Literacy Day
Saturday, September 15, 2012 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

The ocean-themed literacy day at the Aquarium is an under-the-sea reading wonderland. Celebrity storytellers will read from popular books about the ocean and its underwater creatures. There will also be a puppet show, arts and crafts, story telling and creative movement available for the entire family. The event is free with admission to the Aquarium.

ABOUT WAIKIKI AQUARIUM
Founded in 1904 and administered by the University of Hawai'i at Manoa since 1919, the Waikiki Aquarium is located on the shoreline of Waikiki Beach next to a living reef and across from Kapiolani Park. The Aquarium -- third oldest in the U.S. -- showcases more than 500 marine species, and maintains more than 3,500 marine specimens. Public exhibits, education programs and research focus on the unique aquatic life of Hawai'i and the tropical Pacific.

The Aquarium welcomes more than 320,000 visitors annually, and is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except Honolulu Marathon Sunday and Christmas Day. Admission is $9 for visitors; $6 for local residents, active duty military with ID, students with ID and seniors; $4 for youths ages 13-17 and persons with disabilities; $2 for juniors ages 5 to 12; and free for children 4 and under and Friends of Waikiki Aquarium (FOWA) members.

MISSION:
To inspire and promote understanding, appreciation
and conservation of Pacific marine life.

DESCRIPTION:

Founded in 1904, the Waikiki Aquarium is the third
oldest public aquarium in the United States. A part of the University of
Hawai`i at Manoa since 1919, it is located next to a living reef on the Waikiki
shoreline. Exhibits, programs, and research focus on the aquatic life of
Hawai`i and the tropical Pacific, with roughly 320,000 people visiting the
Aquarium each year. Over 3,500 organisms are on exhibit representing more than
500 species of aquatic animals and plants.

EXHIBITS:
Waikiki Aquarium exhibits focus on the diversity of
aquatic, shoreline and coral reef habitats and living communities of Hawai`i and
the tropical Pacific. Among the highlights:

Corals Are Alive! interactive exhibits
showcasing corals, their biology and conservation

SeaVisions Theatre shows videos that
illustrate shoreline conservation and how you can be a responsible reef
visitor

South Pacific Marine Communities features
South Pacific habitats and species, including colorful reef corals and fishes,
giant clams, groupers and snappers and intriguing partnerships such as
anemonefishes and their host sea anemones

Hawaiian Marine Communities recreates
Hawaiian habitats from wave-swept surge zone to deep reef slopes, and from young
to ancient reefs; celebrates distinctive reef life, including the longnose
butterflyfish

Ocean Drifters Gallery features a
1,000-gallon moon jelly tank and a seasonally changing jelly wall that may
contain white-spotted jellies, blue blubbers, sea nettles, box jellies and
ctenophores

Hunters on the Reef 35,000-gallon exhibit
is home to Hawaiian sharks and jacks; shark interpretive panels introduce shark
biology, research, conservation and safety. New Spyball camera provides up close
shark encounters in real time on a television screen

Edge of the Reef naturalistic shoreline
exhibit offering opportunities for supervised observation and hands-on
interactions with selected marine life

The Coral Farm exhibit and working research
facility for propagation of reef corals

Giant Clams exhibit and working research
facility for propagation of clams

Hawaiian Monk Seal Habitat features the
endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal found only in the Hawaiian Islands

Aquaculture features moi, a popular food
fish, whose numbers have declined in the wild

Coastal Gardens with native Hawaiian plants
adapted for life close to the sea

ENDANGERED SPECIES:

Hawaiian monk seals; ‘öhai (endemic
Hawaiian coastal plant)

UNIQUE SPECIES:
Pacific giant clams; Hawaiian stream gobies; rare
deep-reef butterflyfish; bearded armorheads; masked angelfish; and diverse
native coastal plants

CONSERVATION & RESEARCH:
The Waikiki Aquarium is a working research facility,
conducting numerous conservation and research programs, including:

Husbandry, nutrition and behavior of aquatic and marine
aquarium specimens

Husbandry and propagation of chambered
nautilus

Spawning behavior, larval rearing, and propagation
potential of selected reef fishes

Identification & treatment of diseases, parasite
infections and other ailments of aquarium marine life

Coral husbandry, propagation and conservation

Hawaiian monk seal metabolic and bacteriological
research

Giant clam husbandry and propagation

Sea jelly husbandry and propagation

Deep reef coral research

Coral Ark: archiving and husbandry of rare Hawaiian
corals

EDUCATION PROGRAMS:
The Waikiki Aquarium offers numerous education programs,
including:

Interpretive services: staff or volunteers enrich
the visitor experience with explanations of the exhibits, demonstrations, and
hands-on experiences

Self-tour opportunities for individuals and
groups: interpretive graphics & exhibits, handouts are
available.

School Program: presentations and docent-assisted
tours for school groups, grades K - 6

Outreach and special request presentations for
schools and community groups

Community Enrichment Program: year-round natural
history fieldtrips, classes, and workshops for children, families, and
adults

Information services: staff answer questions from
visitors & community on marine and aquarium-science related
topics

OPPORTUNITIES:

The Waikiki Aquarium affords a number of opportunities
to get involved through:

Membership: Join the Friends of the
Waikïkï Aquarium (FOWA) to enjoy the annual benefits of free
admission, 20% discount at the Natural Selections gift shop, quarterly mailings
of our beautiful and informative magazine Kilo i’a, free salt water
pick-up, and facility rental privileges at “Family” and
“Family Plus” levels. To select the membership level right for you,
please see the Visitor Services staff or contact Events and Membership Manager
Raina Fujitani at (808) 440-9008 for more information.

Volunteerism: When you donate your time and
curiosity to the Waikiki Aquarium, you are rewarded with diverse and challenging
opportunities to help make a difference!
- Education
  – Docents provide on-site presentations and tours to elementary school
  groups and provide outreach programs for school and community groups.
  Interpreters at the Edge of the Reef exhibit assist visitors and provide
  up-close observations of Hawaiian marine life.
- Live
  Exhibits – Assist with husbandry, tank maintenance and
  feeding.
- Natural
  Selection Shop – Assist with stocking inventory and sales.
- Membership/Public
  Relations/Special Events - Assist with bulk mail outs & communications
  with Aquarium members, public relations surveys, record-keeping and special
  events.

AWARDS:
The Waikiki Aquarium has received several awards for its
research and conservation efforts, including:

2008 Keep It Hawai`i Award

2003 Munson Aquatic Conservation Exhibit (M.A.C.E.) Award
from the American Zoo & Aquarium Association (AZA) for South Pacific Marine
Communities exhibit

2003 Edward H. Bean Award from AZA for Long Term Tropical
Pacific Coral Propagation Program

DIRECTOR: Dr. Andrew
Rossiter

EMPLOYEES: 35 full-time, 36 part-time, 33
affiliate staff

HOURS: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily (except
Honolulu Marathon Sunday and Christmas Day)

ADMISSION: $9 for visitors; $6 for local
residents, active duty military with ID, students with ID and senior citizens;
$4 for youths ages 13-17 and persons with disabilities; $2 for juniors ages 5 -
12; and free for children 4 and under and Friends of Waikiki Aquarium
members

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Waikikii Aquarium Announces 2012 Family Fun Events/Activities

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