Baby animals of any kind are sure to put a smile on your face and box turtles are no exception. The NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher has created a new exhibit starring five tiny turtles.
Baby turtles were a popular request from visitors, so Aquarium staff created a permanent exhibit within the existing box turtle exhibit to house the turtles, ranging in age from one to two years old. The baby box turtles are offspring from the adults on exhibit. The eggs were removed from the nest and placed in an incubator to hatch. Otherwise, if the babies hatched on exhibit, they hide so well, it is hard to find them to make sure they eat enough. The juveniles are fed a mix of fruit, vegetables, and turtle gel. They are also fed earth and meal worms for added nutrition.
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The NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher has added carnivorous plants to its lush gardens thanks to Jacob West, a junior volunteer at the Aquarium. The 40 square foot stone garden was built within the Aquarium’s garden, and houses several types of carnivorous plants.
Jacob West, a senior at Isaac Bear Early College High School in Wilmington, has always loved the Aquarium. This 17-year-old enjoys outdoor hobbies such as scuba diving, which led him to volunteer at the Aquarium for the last two years. During the completion of his Eagle Scout, the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America, West had to plan and implement a service project that benefits the local community. He knew immediately he wanted to pursue his Eagle project at the Aquarium. After clearing a 100 square foot area in the garden, Jacob constructed the stone garden where the carnivorous plants would be placed.
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The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher invites businesses and organizations to sponsor booths at the eighth annual “Trick or Treat Under the Sea” on Wednesday, October 27 and Thursday, October 28.
The event, also known as TOTUS, features indoor trick-or-treating for children from 5:00 pm to 8:30 pm. Sponsoring a booth is a wonderful way to promote your business by interacting with families in the community at this fun and popular event. Vendors can also win prizes for their decorating efforts.
Booth space is available for $75 per day. A $10 discount is offered to vendors who book both days. Vendors may attend one or both nights. Sponsors decorate booths and provide enough treats for the several hundred children expected each night. Sponsors bring their own tables, decorations and power cords. Returning vendors get first priority with an August 31 deadline.
Booth sponsorships are available first-come, first-served. For more information or to register, call Special Events Coordinator Terry Bryant at 910-458-8257 ext. 218 or 202 or email terry.bryant@ncaquariums.com.
Canoe trips are an excellent opportunity for adventure, exercise and bonding with friends and family. A canoe trip is fun for beginners and advanced canoeists alike, and is the perfect time to gather a group to enjoy nature.
The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher is offering a canoeing trip to Holly Shelter in Pender County. According to the NC Natural Heritage Program, Pender County boasts some of the most biologically significant land along the Atlantic Coast. The county ranks fourth among the state’s 100 counties for its number of rare plants and animal species. Much of this biological cornucopia is centered around the Holly Shelter region - a vast expanse of longleaf pine savannas, Carolina bays, blackwater streams, and pocosin habitat that encompasses Holly Shelter Game Land in Pender County.
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© Eyeconic Images
The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher thanks the ocean through a new breathtaking exhibit. The Aquarium installed its “Thank You Ocean” exhibit that hosts a collection of sea-related photography taken by local but world famous photographers Scott Marshall, Logan Mock-Bunting, and DJ Struntz. The photos feature images such as stingrays swimming in the sea, fishermen hard at work, and waves barreling into the camera.
The Aquarium’s Thank You Ocean exhibit is in conjunction with the Thank You Ocean campaign, a nonprofit partnership supported by the State of California, the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and the Ocean Communicators Alliance. The mission of the campaign is to raise awareness of the benefits the ocean provides to us and to identify ways each of us can help protect the ocean in our everyday lives.
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2nd place, Aquariums category, Shasta Hartley. Click to see all the winners.
Photographers immersed themselves in North Carolina’s aquatic environments and came up with some vivid images for the North Carolina Aquariums annual photo contest.
Kyle Humphrey of Kure Beach took first place in the “At the Aquariums” category with a compelling photo of striped bass at the Aquarium at Fort Fisher.
Shasta Hartley of Dudley, N.C. took second with a colorful image of an Eastern newt at the Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. A bobwhite pair at the Aquarium at Fort Fisher earned Karen Doody of Morehead City third in this category. Lee Moore of Atlantic Beach earned honorable mention with a lionfish image taken at the Aquarium at Fort Fisher. (more…)
One artist’s hunt for the perfect surfboard led to the creation of unique works of art now on display at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher. Raffaele Paglia’s artwork, which showcases the deep bond between surfers and the environment, will be on display in the Spadefish Gallery from June to September.
The mixed media art brings a whole new meaning to hidden treasures. The artwork, which was created from used and weathered skim boards and surfboards, now hosts mesmerizing patterns that Paglia painted, such as loggerhead sea turtles. On display will be three painted skim boards, one surfboard, and a kneeboard. There will also be numerous paintings, and a two dimensional wall piece entitled A Carolina Moon, Paglia’s signature piece.
After moving to Carolina Beach three years ago, Paglia decided he wanted to learn how to surf. After searching for the perfect artwork on a board, Paglia wanted to create his own designs. After spending a great deal of his professional career in the fashion industry as a designer/illustrator, he was confident that this task would be an adventure. While delving into research about surfboards, Paglia found himself immersed in the history of Carolina Beach. He has created several large works of art incorporating the towns’ history that have been on display throughout Carolina Beach.
The Spadefish Gallery at the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher showcases local artists throughout the year. Artwork that coincides with the Aquarium’s mission of “Inspiring appreciation and conservation of North Carolina’s aquatic environments” is located on the second floor, near the auditorium.
Visitors to the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher can not only enjoy the freshwater and saltwater animals, but also the lush gardens upon exiting the building. Spanning over an acre, the garden is alive with fresh flowers like snapdragons, fox gloves and irises, and trees and shrubbery such as live oaks, palms, agave and weeping yaupon.
And now, photographic art is adorning the garden. As visitors are strolling the boardwalk they encounter a grouper, squid, shark, sea turtle and a large wave swell tucked away among the trees. These five large scale photographs on aluminum are by local artists Sean Ruttkay and videographer Ryan McInnis.
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That old rod and reel in your attic or garage may be worth more than you think. It could put a big smile on a needy youngster’s face. Rick Wilkinson, a surf-fishing instructor at the aquarium, spends his spare time rebuilding donated fishing gear as a volunteer. He then hands over the good-as-new rigs to area youth and adult groups.
The refurbished equipment goes to groups like Big Buddy, Community Boys and Girls Club, the Brigade Boys and Girls Club, and St. Mary’s Social Ministry. “I really like bringing old fishing gear back to life,” Rick says. “And if a fishing rod I reworked can make someone’s life a little happier, then that’s just great.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of Education awarded the North Carolina Aquarium Society $580,000 for the Aquarium at Fort Fisher’s proposal “Using marine mammals to communicate solutions to ocean issues”. The Aquarium plans to increase public understanding and appreciation of the interconnectedness of people and the environment, with a focus on climate change impacts, through statewide outreach using a portable, inflatable GeoDome theater and an on-site exhibit upgrade.
The Aquarium will work in collaboration with the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, the Elumenati LLC, University of North Carolina Wilmington and Duke University Marine Laboratory to develop marine mammal and climate change programs for GeoDome presentations. Ultimately, teenagers aged 14-17 will become engaged in climate and ocean literacy through a better understanding of marine mammals.
