Sea Center Celebrates World Oceans Day with Free Admission – June 9
On Saturday, June 9 from 10:00 AM-4:00 PM, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center, in collaboration with the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), will celebrate World Oceans Day by offering free admission. The World Oceans Day theme for 2018 focuses on preventing plastic pollution and encouraging solutions for a healthy ocean.
Visitors to the Sea Center will be able to (1) explore a kelp holdfast that anchors kelp to the ocean floor and provides a home to numerous small marine animals; (2) speak with marine biologists to learn about the impacts of ash from the Thomas fire on the marine food web; (3) walk through a kelp forest station; (4) learn about marine debris impacts on the ocean with the Sea Center’s Portal to the Planet program; (5) speak with outreach teams from UCSB, the Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute (CIMWI), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); (6) watch a Harbor Patrol Fire Boat water display at 2:00 PM (time subject to change), as well as (7) immerse themselves with grey whales swimming the Santa Barbara Channel via a virtual reality headset in the Sea Center’s Channel Theatre.
World Oceans Day was first proposed in 1992 by the Government of Canada at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. A petition was then widely circulated to the United Nations, persuading them to officially recognize World Oceans Day. In December 2008, a United Nations General Assembly resolution was passed and World Oceans Day became officially recognized by the United Nations as June 8.
For more information, visit www.sbnature.org or www.worldoceansday.org.
About the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center
Powered by Science. Inspired by Nature. Founded in 1916, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History inspires a thirst for discovery and a passion for the natural world. The Museum seeks to connect people to nature for the betterment of both, and prides itself on being naturally different.
In 1987, the Museum added the Sea Center on historic Stearns Wharf as an off-campus facility focused on Santa Barbara’s regional coastal and ocean environment. The Sea Center is an engaging, interactive marine education facility that allows visitors to discover the fun in science and the wonders of the natural world.