Bridget Cervero Maritime Aquarium Points to Sharks

Maritime Aquarium Gets Award for World-Class Online Educational Workshops

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For its rapid and broad response in providing live virtual science lessons to schools suddenly thrust by COVID-19 into online learning, The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is being honored for the best educational initiative in 2020 by any zoo or aquarium in the country. — an announcement from The Maritime Aquarium

The Aquarium’s implementation of — and the global reception to — a new slate of STEM-based virtual programs received the top award for education on Wednesday, during the annual conference of the 241-member Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA). In presenting the 2021 award, the AZA judges said, “This program has impressive reach and is connected to many diverse communities around the world with its inclusive approach of different languages and abilities.”

Since the pandemic hit in spring 2020, The Maritime Aquarium has live-streamed standards-fulfilling lessons on animals, conservation, habitats and other marine-science topics to more than 38,000 students and individuals in 44 states and on five continents — North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. “This national award confirms the quality of our programs,” said Aquarium President Jason Patlis. Tom Naiman, the Aquarium’s vice president of education, said it’s significant that this is the first time the AZA has presented a top education award for a virtual program.