Film
Man on the Moon

Two Ways to Re-Live the Larger-Than-Life Apollo 11 Moon Landing: IMAX Film and a Telescope or Darien Library Lecture and the Film

By |
Download PDF

Re-live the first moon landing (larger than life on IMAX) and then explore the night’s full moon (magnified through telescopes) as the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk hosts a special movie-and-astronomy evening event on Tuesday, July 16 — the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch. There happens to be a full moon on the night of the 16th. So the Maritime Aquarium is inviting guests to enjoy the spectacular new IMAX movie Apollo 11: First Steps Edition at 8 p.m., followed by a moon viewing on the Aquarium’s riverfront courtyard led by the astronomy team of New Pond Farm in Redding. Also, on Saturday, July 13, Darien Library is presenting the same film with a lecture commemorating the Apollo 11 mission. You can attend both events, the free one nearby in Darien, or the one on the much bigger screen in Norwalk, along with your own personal look at the moon, or do both, or do parts of both.

Holidays
Fireworks cruises Maritime Aquarium

Get Tickets Now for Maritime Aquarium’s July 3, July 4 Fireworks Cruises

By |
Download PDF

Enjoy a special water view of holiday displays in Norwalk, and avoid the crowds and traffic, by coming aboard one of the fireworks cruises offered by the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk. — an announcement from the Maritime Aquarium

The aquarium is offering cruises to two fireworks displays aboard its R/V Spirit of the Sound, the country’s first research vessel with quiet “green” hybrid-electric propulsion. The 64-foot catamaran has two deck levels for optimum viewing enjoyment. Here’s the aquarium’s patriotic-pyrotechnics plan:

• Wednesday, July 3 – Norwalk’s Calf Pasture Beach display

• Thursday, July 4 – Rowayton display

Each cruise departs at 7 p.m. from the Maritime Aquarium dock (outside the IMAX Theater). Return is expected by 11 p.m. Food in small soft-sided coolers is allowed aboard the boat, but alcoholic beverages and glass bottles are prohibited.

Maritime Aquarium
Avalon Bunge Marine Life Encounter Cruise Maritime Aquarium

You Can Enjoy Long Island Sound on a Maritime Aquarium Cruise

By |
Download PDF

Come out onto Long Island Sound this summer with the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk to meet live marine animals or to see lighthouses, sunsets and even holiday fireworks. — an announcement from the Maritime Aquarium

A fun mix of cruises are available aboard The Maritime Aquarium’s R/V Spirit of the Sound, the first research vessel in the country with quiet “green” hybrid-electric propulsion:
Marine Life Encounter Cruises
At 1:15 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays from June 25-Sept. 2 (no cruise Sat., July 13)

The Maritime Aquarium’s signature cruise offers the chance to meet a variety of marine animals brought up right out of the water right before your eyes. These 2.5-hour cruises reveal what is, to many, a surprising diversity of marine life just off our shores in Long Island Sound. Aquarium educators put participants to work in collecting and examining animals from all levels of the water column: tiny plankton gathered at the surface (and viewed on a large monitor via a videomicroscope); little crabs and worms grabbed from the muddy bottom; and a variety of fish, crabs, mollusks — maybe even squid or a small shark – brought up in a trawl net.

Film

Go to the Moon With the Astronauts in the ‘Apollo 11’ IMAX Movie at the Maritime Aquarium

By |
Download PDF

Turn the clock back to July 1969 and see newspapers, collectibles, rocket models and other items celebrating the Apollo 11 mission to the moon — including a piece of the moon itself — in a special display coming to The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk. Open from July 1 through Labor Day (Sept. 2), the special Apollo 11 display will commemorate the historic moon landing on July 20, 1969, and also enhance the Aquarium’s daily presentations of the IMAX movie “Apollo 11: First Steps Edition.”

Among the items to be displayed are newspapers from the day, buttons and patches, View-Master slides, spacecraft models, NASA documents, booklets and other items relating to the infamous giant leap for mankind. Most interestingly, the collection includes a book autographed by Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, as well as a small piece of the moon: part of a lunar meteorite found on Earth. There’s no extra charge for Aquarium guests to view the display in the IMAX Theater lobby.

Holidays
Streamliner car

Come and Sea Cars Named After Sea Creatures on Saturday, June 8 at the Maritime Aquarium

By |
Download PDF

For one day only — Saturday, June 8 — the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is expanding its collection to include a “whale,” an “orca special,” Barracudas, “fish mouth” Darts and more. — an announcement from the Maritime Aquarium

But the additions aren’t fish. They’re automobiles named for fish, on display in the Aquarium’s second annual car show, “Barracudas, Marlins & More Show Cars from the Sea.”

Appropriately for the event, The Maritime Aquarium welcomes only rare and exquisite car models whose names or nicknames were inspired by aquatic animals. Must-“sea” cars expected to be reeled in are:

—1937 Gougeon Streamliner, a futuristic teardrop-design concept car often called a “whale”

—1954 Frazer “Orca Special,” another rare custom-built show car

—1958 Austin Healey “Frog Eye” Sprite

—1965 Rambler Marlin

—two 1970 Chrysler-Plymouth Hemi ’Cudas

—1968 Barracuda Formula S

—1962 and 1963 Daimler Darts known for their “fish mouth” front ends. —1979 Porsche 930 “Whale Tail”

—2005 “Shark Face” Porsche Carrera GT

“There haven’t been a whole lot of car models over the years named for fish, and so our collection will feature some of the best and rarest examples of what already are rare automobiles,” said Aquarium spokesman Dave Sigworth.

Maritime Aquarium
volunteer Maritime Aquarium wide

Interested in Volunteering at the Maritime Aquarium? Registration Is Open Now

By |
Download PDF

Registration is open now for teens and adults interested in volunteering at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk. — an announcement from the Maritime Aquarium

Interview sessions for potential volunteers will be held on Wednesday, June 5 and Thurs., June 13, each at 5 p.m. You need attend only one. Pre-registration is required. Prior knowledge about marine animals isn’t necessary to be a Maritime Aquarium volunteer. That’s what will be taught in a special accelerated two-day course, which will meet on Tuesday, June 18 and Wednesday, June 19, from 1 to 6 p.m. each day.

Animals
Hatchling Turtle

Don’t Touch Wild Hatchling Turtles — and Other Wild Turtle Advice from the Maritime Aquarium

By |
Download PDF

The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is asking folks to be mindful of turtles on the move at this time of year, and only to interact with them if necessary. — an announcement from the Maritime Aquarium

Barrett Christie, director of animal husbandry, said several recent well-meaning callers have “rescued” hatchling diamondback terrapins, a protected coastal species. One hatchling was even delivered to the Aquarium. “Often, upon being handled by humans or brought in to human care, turtles cannot be returned to their natural habitats,” Christie said. “We’re glad that people are concerned for the welfare of turtles as they find them, but it’s important to know what to do and what not to do.”

Listed in Connecticut as a “species of special concern,” diamondback terrapins are the state’s only turtle that spend their lives in the brackish waters of Long Island Sound’s tidal rivers and marshes.

Film
Christian Bale Dark Knight Rises Warner Bros.

Tickets Now Available for Individual ‘Dark Night Trilogy’ Batman Films at Maritime Aquarium Saturday

By |
Download PDF

In response to popular demand, The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is making tickets available for individual films in this Saturday’s exclusive IMAX Theater presentation of Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy. —an announcement from the Maritime Aquarium

Tickets are $20 each for “Batman Begins” at noon, “The Dark Knight” at 3 p.m. and “The Dark Knight Rises” at 8 p.m., all playing May 11t on the Aquarium’s six-story IMAX screen, the largest in Connecticut. (As a bonus for ticket-holders to the 8 p.m. movie, a videotaped “Dark Knight” Q&A with Nolan will be shown at 7:30 p.m.)

Discounted tickets for the entire trilogy remain on sale as well, for $50. Guests buying tickets for the trilogy will receive a keepsake lanyard and rare “Dark Knight” collectible. The Maritime Aquarium is one of only five theaters in the U.S. offering this special IMAX engagement of the “Dark Knight” trilogy, presented to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Batman’s first appearance in a comic book.

Maritime Aquarium
Avalon Bunge Marine Life Encounter Cruises

Get to Know Long Island Sound: Maritime Aquarium’s ‘Marine Life Encounter’ Cruises Start in May

By |
Download PDF

Get a deeper new appreciation for Long Island Sound when you meet some of its resident fish, crabs and other creatures, brought up wriggling and wet right out of the water right before your eyes, during a Marine Life Encounter Cruise offered by The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk. — an announcement from the Maritime Aquarium

These fun and memorable outings will be offered on most Saturdays and Sundays in May and June, with departures at 1:15 p.m. (There is no cruise on May 11.) Beginning June 25, 2019 they’ll run daily Tuesdays through Sundays through the summer. The 2.5-hour cruises give participants close-up, often hands-on introductions to a variety of fish, crabs, mollusks and other animals brought up onto the Aquarium’s research vessel. “Any boat ride is fun, but the Aquarium’s cruises offer the exciting bonus of giving participants an amazing window into what’s below the waves,” said Aquarium spokesman Dave Sigworth. The Marine Life Encounter Cruises bring up animals from different levels of the Sound’s depths.

Maritime Aquarium
Asian Water Monitor Lizard at Maritime Aquarium Black Dragon

Maritime Aquarium Mourns Death of 6-Year-Old, 7-Foot-Long ‘Black Dragon’ Lizard

By |
Download PDF

The staff of the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is mourning the death of its Asian water monitor lizard, more commonly known as its black dragon. The 7-foot lizard died overnight Monday. “We’re always saddened by the death of any animal at the Aquarium, but the black dragon was appreciated as a very special creature by staff as well as by our guests,” said Barrett Christie, the Aquarium’s director of Animal Husbandry. Cause of death is unknown. A necropsy will be performed at the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory at UConn.

Animals
Tagging Horseshoe Crabs Maritime Aquarium 2019

Volunteers Needed to Tag Horseshoe Crabs: Register for Maritime Aquarium How-to Classes

By |
Download PDF

A beach mating ritual that is millions of years old is about to occur again on Connecticut’s shorelines, and the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk needs help documenting it. — an announcement from the Maritime Aquarium

Volunteers are needed this spring to help the Aquarium tag horseshoe crabs when the unique creatures come out of Long Island Sound to spawn in the sand. This mass event is a bonanza time to gather data for an ongoing horseshoe-crab census — so much so that help is needed from “citizen scientists.”

“These tagging trainings reach capacity every spring, which thrills and amuses us,” said Aquarium spokesman Dave Sigworth. “Horseshoe crabs are hardly cute and cuddly. But a lot of people find it fun to go mucking around the beach in the middle of the night with us — all on the crabs’ behalf.

Film
Heath Ledger Warner Bros The Dark Knight at IMAX

For One Day (and for Hours) ‘Dark Knight’ Batman Trilogy Plays on IMAX at Maritime Aquarium

By |
Download PDF

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 18 for an exclusive one-day-only presentation of Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy on Saturday, May 11 on the giant IMAX screen of The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk. The Maritime Aquarium will be one of only five theaters in the U.S. presenting this special engagement of the “Dark Knight” trilogy. —an announcement from the Maritime Aquarium

The popular South Norwalk attraction has the state’s largest IMAX screen – it’s six stories tall – and projects with 15perf/70mm film, which movie buffs know is the biggest, brightest, sharpest and clearest format. (One frame of IMAX film has upwards of 18,000 pixels of resolution, compared to 1,920 in a home HDTV.)

Tickets for the trilogy at The Maritime Aquarium are $50 for all three movies. Tickets will not be sold for the individual films. Only 300 seats are available, and are expected to sell out.

Maritime Aquarium
Feeding Rays Maritime Aquarium April Camp

‘So What Did You Do During Spring Break?’ … ‘I Fed Sharks at the Maritime Aquarium’

By |
Download PDF

Watch and even help with the morning feedings of sharks, rays, terrapins and other marine creatures on Wednesday, April 17 in a special behind-the-scenes program in the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk. — an announcement from the Maritime Aquarium

“This program — called ‘Feeding Time’ — is offered by the aquarium on occasional weekends, but this upcoming session is on a Wednesday as a fun and special experience in the middle of the school spring-break week,” said aquarium spokesman Dave Sigworth. “Feeding Time” gives participants exclusive access to some of their favorite marine animals by letting them join educators and the animal-husbandry staff during morning rounds prior to the aquarium’s opening. Opportunities include:

• Feeling the vacuuming power of rays on your palm as you offer morsels in the Shark & Ray Touch Pool. • Hand-feeding a horseshoe crab and diamondback terrapin.

Maritime Aquarium
Seal Spotting and Bird Cruises Maritime Aquarium

Maritime Aquarium’s Seal-Spotting and Birding Cruises on Long Island Sound End April 14

By |
Download PDF

The weekend of April 13 and 14 offer the final chances to join The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk in seeking out some of the seals and birds that spend the colder months just off Connecticut’s shores. The Maritime Aquarium’s 2018-19 season of “Seal-Spotting & Birding Cruises” concludes with outings on Saturday, April 13 (at noon) and Sunday, April 14 (at 1 p.m.). — an announcement from the Maritime Aquarium

These invigorating 2½-hour cruises seek out some of the harbor seals and gray seals that annually migrate down into Long Island Sound from northern waters. Aquarium educators will point out these federally protected marine mammals and talk about their natural histories. “There have been several news stories recently of folks approaching seals at rest on Fairfield County beaches,” said aquarium spokesman Dave Sigworth.