Baltimore, April 9, 2007 - The National Aquarium in Baltimore will host a free outdoor festival in celebration of Earth Day. On April 22, Inner Harbor visitors can join in the celebration of Earth Day at a free event hosted on the Aquarium's Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Waterfront Park, which is located directly in front of the Aquarium's Pier III Pavilion.
Philippe Cousteau, grandson of the late ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, will join the Aquarium's festivities to speak to visitors about their ocean and watershed experiences. Cousteau, with his sister Alexandra, is the co-founder of EarthEcho International, a non-profit that works to empower individuals to take action to sustain and enhance the planet.
Visitors to the Aquarium will enjoy the debut of Watershed Moments, an interactive presentation in the Aquarium's auditorium that shares secrets of the Chesapeake watershed. The Chesapeake Bay watershed is one of the largest in the country, with over 64,000 square miles of land draining into the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers. This engaging, high-energy program will introduce some of the amazing creatures that inhabit this watershed, and share tips on how to protect it.
Outside, at the free Earth Day festival, children will have a chance to assist Aquarium and Maryland Sea Grant staff as they test the quality of the Bay's water. They will also get the chance to learn weird and fascinating facts about the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the many challenges to its health, including runoff, pollution, erosion and dwindling sea grass population.
The National Aquarium in Baltimore, a non-profit organization, is Baltimore's leading attraction, hosting more than 1.6 million visitors per year. The Aquarium's mission is to connect people with aquatic life in order to create a better world for both. It's dedication to education and conservation through more than a dozen programs that serve the environment and the community.
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