For April school vacation, Aquarium welcomes visitors for live animal feedings, presentations, whale watches

Advanced ticket purchases strongly recommended

BOSTON, MASS. (April 6, 2022) – The New England Aquarium is getting ready to welcome families during April School Vacation Week, with animal feedings, presentations, and the return of whale watches.

The Aquarium will open its doors to guests from across New England during the spring school vacation weeks—April 11 to 15 for Rhode Island and some Connecticut public schools; April 18 to 22 for Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, and some Connecticut public schools; and April 25 to 29 for New Hampshire public schools. With so many visitors expected, advanced ticket purchases are strongly recommended: https://tickets.neaq.org/default.aspx. Masks are no longer required but encouraged.

The Aquarium’s marine mammals team will offer daily presentations at 2 p.m. in the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center and at 3 p.m. in the Atlantic harbor seal exhibit. Guests can also stop to see the penguins being fed daily at 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. and Giant Ocean Tank feedings at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Myrtle the 90-year-old green sea turtle is always the star attraction in the 200,000-gallon Giant Ocean Tank as she swims and dives alongside 1,000 animals in the Aquarium’s four-story central exhibit. Guests are also encouraged to stop by the Shorebird exhibit to meet the Aquarium’s newest resident, a rescued sanderling, and the Olympic Coast exhibit to see the giant Pacific octopus. On April 20, Lambert the African penguin will be celebrating his 30^th hatch day. A Facebook Live with the penguin team will be held that morning.

Other crowd-pleasing exhibits are the 9,000-gallon, floor-to-ceiling Indo-Pacific Coral Reef exhibit, showcasing brilliantly-colored tropical fish, and the Trust Family Foundation Shark and Ray Touch Tank, where guests can touch cownose rays, Atlantic rays, and epaulette sharks as they swim through a mangrove habitat. For those looking to grab a bite to eat, the Aquarium’s Harbor View Café is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily and features sandwiches, pizza, grilled items, soups, and salads. Ben & Jerry’s also returns to Central Wharf Plaza this month to offer sweet treats.

New England Aquarium Whale Watches in partnership with Boston Harbor City Cruises will be departing from Central Wharf at 10 a.m. every day the week of April 17, with combo tickets available online. Boston Duck Tours are offering their famous tours around the city with a stop in front of the Aquarium.

At the Simons Theatre, the film Incredible Predators, which opened in February, allows viewers to ride along beside animals as they hunt on land, sea, and sky. Other films playing include Great White Shark, Ocean Odyssey, and Turtle Odyssey. Screening times vary and can be found online: https://dev.neaq.org/exhibits/simons-theatre/.

The Aquarium’s hours of operation the week of April 17 are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Normal operating hours during the spring are weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information or tickets, call 617-973-5200 or visit www.neaq.org.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Pam Bechtold Snyder – psnyder@neaq.org, 617-686-5068