Imagine that you're scuba diving off of the New England coast. The ocean is cold, but bearable, and as you make your way through the murky water, you begin to see familiar sights like sea stars, sea urchins and mussels. As you swim past a rock formation, you happen to see a tiny fish the size of your thumbnail wobbling along, and looking sorely out of place:


Photo: John Correa

This is a guest post written by frequent Aquarium visitor Catherine Van Arnam. She offered to share her family's memories and images on the Exhibit Galleries Blog. 

Every couple of months I sit the kids down and say, "It's time. It's been too long since we visited the New England Aquarium." They don't remain sitting long and, usually on a quiet weekend morning, we pop into Boston and soon are nose to nose with the liquid-eyed harbor seals that glide peacefully in their habitat on the plaza by the Aquarium's front door.

I've learned to resist my urge to hustle us inside and proceed with our rounds inside the building. This is now where I pause and smile, and where the kids kneel and put both their hands on the glass. "He looked at me!" they yell. "They're so bendy!" Our eight-year-old daughter Anya recently said this is her favorite sight, "because their eyes are really cute! If I were a seal I would just like to go up to people and look at them with my cute seal eyes." When pleading for an extra cookie or bedtime story, she now barks, "SEAL EYES," to her brother, Erik, seven. Their prompt imitation of cute seal eyes has compelled quite a few cookies in their direction.


We're hardly ever a few steps inside the Aquarium before something fascinating is witnessed in the penguin exhibit. Our most recent trip had us flabbergasted with the care and work involved in feeding each penguin by hand the correct amount and in good time, before getting the rock-scrubbing underway. We like to pick a penguin to watch for a few minutes, and already feel we've an excellent grasp of penguin psychology. They don't seem so different from us.

Up next is Daddy's favorite, those charming curmudgeons, the groupers. Peacefully dour, they enjoy the company of lobsters, just like Dad. Then Erik pulls us along to find one of the very-bright-green moray eels in the Giant Ocean Tank. Shyly concealed along the bottom, they emerge when ready and rivet us with their beady, penetrating gaze and bounty of small, knifelike teeth. “Were I an eel I would like to eat little fish, and I would not like to look at the sharks,” notes Erik.


Now it's my turn to lead the way and we soon arrive at my very favorite, the giant Pacific octopus tank. It is a hard truth that there's been a succession of these beautiful creatures here through the years, as they only live for about two years. Of late I've savored my nose-against-the-glass time with Octavia. She is not mysterious to herself, and just goes about her day as I stare, captivated.



There may be thousands sea creatures at New England Aquarium, but we can't seem to exit the place without running into many of the human species that keep the place going. Besides the many organized demonstrations available, we usually buttonhole several cheery staffers during our visit and the kids share observations and questions. The friendliness of the staffers extends to those at The Café--with my favorite view of Boston Harbor--and the speedy cashiers selling admission tickets to people from all over the world.

As we drive home the whole family is tired but so satisfied, and we all dream of the gurgling wonders of the deep until we can see them again.

Anya drew these pictures after our adventure. Clockwise from top: Octavia the octopus, a shark feeding, Myrtle the green sea turtle, a unicornfish, a moon jelly.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the Aquarium Catherine! Visitors who would like to share their Aquarium memories can use our Tumblr submit form.

The Trust Family Foundation Shark and Ray Touch Tank is one of our most popular exhibits – and with good reason! In this beautiful space, you get the chance to touch some of the world’s most fascinating animals – stingrays and sharks. To prepare you for your visit, here are some Frequently Asked Questions:

How do I get to the Shark and Ray Touch Tank?
The touch tank, two additional viewing tanks and the jellies exhibit are in the Aquarium’s West Wing. Reach the West Wing from the lobby, directly next to the restrooms and lockers. 

 
 Photo: J. Correa

What is the best time to be there?
If you are planning to visit during school vacation time, be prepared for the touch tank area to be busy. First thing in the morning (the exhibit opens at 9:30 most days) is the best time to be there. If you can’t do that, the end of our day (check the website for closing times) tends to be quieter.


Photo: J. Correa

Stingrays? Won’t they sting me?
Nope! Our rays have all had their stinging barbs clipped, just like you might clip the nails on a cat or a dog. The barbs grow back, and are clipped again before they have a chance to get big enough to be a problem.  Also, rays generally only sting if they feel that their lives are in danger.


Photo: S. Cheng

Sharks! Won’t they bite me?
Even though sharks have a bad reputation, they are not into biting people. Our sharks, like most sharks, are small, shy animals. In fact, you may not even see them when you first get to the exhibit. They like to hide.

What’s the best way to touch them?
Roll up your sleeves. Make a flat hand, like you’re giving a high-five. Place that flat hand into the water, with the water somewhere between your wrist and your elbow. Be still and quiet – rays and sharks can hear you, and can feel your movement, and they will get scared away if you are too loud or move too much. When they come near, you may gently reach down and pet them on their backs.

We hope to see you soon at the Trust Family Foundation Shark and Ray Touch Tank!

Next week is December school vacation, so the Aquarium will be filled with families! However, the week before the holidays is pretty quiet, making it a great time to visit. One of the many benefits of coming to the Aquarium when it isn't extremely busy is that you can spend more time looking at the exhibits and closely observing the many inhabitants. And one of the best exhibits to take a closer look? The Trust Family Foundation Shark and Ray Touch Tank!

Whitespotted bamboo sharks have dark stripes and white spots

Both species of bamboo sharks are benthic-type sharks, spending much of their time on the sandy bottom. To prevent being bothered by other animals (or predators) the sharks will find hiding places in which to rest. Coral reef overhangs or mangrove roots provide great cover and allow the sharks to rest in peace and quiet. And as our exhibit has lots of overhangs and roots, our exhibit animals take full advantage of these spaces!

So next time you are at the shark and ray touch tank, take a peek under the coral pieces that dot the exhibit or among the roots of the mangrove trees. You may just spot a shark resting on the sandy bottom.

Resting on the sand



In the mangrove roots

One of the oldest groups of animals alive today, jellies often appear elegantly simple to the casual observer. But spend a little time with one of our jelly lab aquarists and you get the impression that, when it comes to jellies, there is a lot more to them than many people suspect.

Here at the New England Aquarium, we frequently have a dozen or more species of jellies (like the moon jelly). Some are on exhibit for visitors to see while others are raised behind the scenes to be sent to other aquariums all over the world.

 
Younger lagoon jellies (Mastigias papua) contain photosynthetic algae. As they mature, they need less light and loose their bluish color.

In order to successfully raise jellies, our aquarists must be familiar with their unusual reproduction strategy. Like something out of a science-fiction film, jellies go through several life stages that are drastically different from one another. Adult jellies, called medusa, can reproduce sexually by releasing eggs and sperm. Fertilized eggs become free-swimming planula larvae.




The lifecycle of a local species, the moon jelly, is so complicated that it helps to have an illustration courtesy of Senior Aquarium Educator Lisbeth Bornhofft.

Jellies can also reproduce asexually by forming anemone-like polyps (jellies and sea anemones, along with corals, are related to each other) that strobilate, or bud off, identical copies of themselves. These free-swimming “buds” are called ephyra. In some species, several ephyra can bud off of one single polyp.Since the jelly lifecycle in the wild is seasonal, our aquarists recreate a temperature shift from winter to spring, or spring to summer, to cause the polyps to strobilate.

Thumbnail-sized ephyra of purple-striped jellies (Chrysaora colorata)

Some ephyra are photosynthetic; they have symbiotic algae called zooxanthaellae that converts sunlight into food. Other ephyra are quite content to munch on tiny brine shrimp. Feeding and growing, they will eventually “bell over” into an adult medusa. This is when the shape of the jelly changes from a pointy star to more of a solid dome.


Despite their small size, these ephyra are already predators. If you look closely, you can see the brine shrimp we raise and feed to our jellies.

Here at the Aquarium, we have jellies on exhibit in both the Thinking Gallery and in the West Wing. While most of the jelly raising happens behind the scenes, we currently have Cassiopia jellies reproducing in the live mangrove exhibit. These jellies are often referred to as “upside-down” jellies since as adults they settle to the bottom of shallow, sunny tropical waters and use their bell like a suction cup. Being upside-down allows the photosynthetic algae to get plenty of sun!


Below is a video of both adult and ephyra stages of Cassiopia on exhibit. Or better yet, come to the New England Aquarium and see them for yourself!

-Dave