With Labor Day bringing two special summer exhibits to an end, time is slipping away to see a rare albino alligator and for youngsters to give veterinary care to plush animals at the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk.
Both the “Albino Alligator” and “Stuffed Animal CARE-ium” exhibits will close at the end of Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 3.
— an announcement from the Maritime Aquarium
Additionally, the Labor Day holiday brings the final daily showing of the IMAX movie “Great White Shark.”
Snowflake the Albino Alligator
“Albino Alligator” gives guests a close look at a rare white alligator — a 6-foot male named Snowflake.
Photo from the Maritime Aquarium
Your chance to see Snowflake in person is quickly melting away …
Albino alligators are very rare because, when young in the wild, they’re more obvious to predators. Plus, white alligators can’t bask in the sun like normal alligators — a necessary behavior for cold-blooded reptiles — because they’re susceptible to sunburns.
(Snowflake is enjoying a special shaded enclosure out on the riverfront courtyard.)
Photo from the Maritime Aquarium
Stuffed-animal veterinarian at work in the, ah, CARE-ium at the aquarium.
Stuffed Animal CARE-ium
This fun and adorable exhibit lets young guests pretend to use the tools of real veterinarians to diagnose and treat plush-animal patients.
Interactive displays let children choose a plush animal and then weigh it, take its blood pressure, bind a wound or even take an x-ray.
Other displays give young guests the chance to prepare “foods” for their animal, look through a microscope, and consider actual skeletons of the plush-animal species.
Also Going: ‘Great White Shark’ IMAX Movie
Aquarium admission also includes an IMAX movie, shown on a six-story screen in Connecticut’s largest IMAX Theater. One of the daily summer films, “Great White Shark,” will have its final presentation on Labor Day.
The 40-minute film takes viewers around the world to great-white “hot spots” and examines what we know about these incredible animals through the eyes of several people whose lives and work are linked to great whites.
Now through Labor Day, show times for The Maritime Aquarium’s IMAX movies are: “Backyard Wilderness” at 11 a.m. and 1 & 4 p.m.; “Pandas” at noon, 3 & 5 p.m.; and “Great White Shark” at 2 p.m.
Learn about exhibits, movies, programs and cruises on Long Island Sound after Labor Day at the Maritime Aquarium website.