National Aquarium Announces Opening Date for New Exhibit

The National Aquarium announced today that Living Seashore, its newest interactive exhibit, will open May 12 just in time for summer, reminding visitors of the importance of protecting and preserving our beaches during their summer vacations. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and local students will join National Aquarium CEO John Racanelli to officially open the exhibit.

"We created Living Seashore to inspire our guests to take personal action to protect those special aquatic places of the Chesapeake Bay and Mid-Atlantic seashore that truly comprise our backyard," said Racanelli. "Two large touch pools will bring guests face-to-face with the fascinating animals that live along our spectacular beaches. We hope what they learn there will motivate them to become shoreline conservationists themselves."

Living Seashore will take guests on a journey beyond the boardwalk to the crashing waves, sandy beaches and shifting dunes of the ever-changing Mid-Atlantic seashore. As visitors enter the exhibit, they can explore the replicated sandy shore and learn about some of the beach's hidden treasures, including hermit crabs, shell fragments, shorebird tracks and egg cases, on a tactile discovery wall that brings a "slice of the beach" to eye level. Guests will also have the opportunity to look for clues on a digital multi-touch table where they can discover objects that wash up on the beach and find out what animals live along the seashore.

As the journey continues, guests will encounter two large touchpools containing 5,331 gallons of salt water where they can experience hands-on interactions with a variety of marine animals including Atlantic stingrays, clearnose skates, horseshoe crabs, sea urchins, moon jellies and more. Visitors can engage one-on-one with National Aquarium experts and educational interpreters to learn more about responsible beach-going and pledge to become a shore hero at the digital Shore Hero Conservation Station.

Living Seashore is located on level 3 of Blue Wonders: Reefs to Rainforests, Pier 3 Pavilion. The $5.5 million exhibit is part of a $10.5 million infrastructure upgrade that supports renovations and improvements throughout the National Aquarium's Baltimore campus.