This holiday season the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island is collecting gifts for our four legged friends at the Outer Banks SPCA.

Starting Tuesday, December 1 through December 22, the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island will be accepting donations with free admission given to any individual bringing in 7 lbs. or more of dry food, puppy or kitten chow and dog or cat food.

These are items requested for this year’s Santa Paws donation:

• Bleach
• Paper Towels
• Pillowcases
• Blankets
• Cat Toys
• Dog Toys
• Dry Cat Food
• Dry Kitten Food
• Dry Dog Food
• Dry Puppy Food
• Kitty Litter

Help us spread the holiday cheer to our furry friends at the Outer Banks SPCA by making your generous donation today.

For more information call 252-473-3494 or visit www.ncaquariums.com.

On October 1, 2009, the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island will become one of the few institutions in the world to exhibit marine paintings by renowned artist and conservationist Frank Stick (1884-1966).  Some of the works to be shown at the Aquarium were last seen in public at the Musée Océanographique de Monaco in 1988.

Hooked! The Reel Art of Frank Stick focuses on his watercolors of fish, on loan from the Outer Banks History Center (OBHC) in Manteo.  The exhibition celebrates the 20th  anniversary of the OBHC and runs through December.

Stick, a student of Howard Pyle and colleague of N.C. Wyeth, was one of the most popular and prolific American illustrators of the early 20th century.  He was also a lifelong sportsman, a founder of the Izaak Walton League, and co-author of the first book on surf fishing.

Stick visited the undeveloped Outer Banks of North Carolina on a fishing trip in the mid-1920s.  Like many before and since, he was hooked.  Despite the area’s lack of roads, bridges, and electricity, he gave up commercial art and moved with his family to the Banks.  Over the next 37 years, he played a major role in local economic growth (one of his subdivisions became the Town of Southern Shores) and the stabilization of the beaches.  He was also involved in the creation of the Wright Brothers National Monument, the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, Cape Hatteras National Seashore and the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.

When he returned to his easel in semi-retirement, Stick concentrated on two subjects that he knew well: fish and fishing.  A planned field guide never took shape, but he continued to paint until a few weeks before his death.

Stick’s early work had been scattered, but most of the fish paintings went to his son David (1919-2009) who was himself an eminent historian and author.  In 1981 the University of North Carolina Press published a majority of the paintings in a book entitled An Artist’s Catch.  Six years later, David Stick donated his library, his papers and 324 of his father’s paintings to the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources to form the nucleus of the Outer Banks History Center.

The OBHC, a regional archives and research library administered by the N.C. State Archives, is located at Roanoke Island Festival Park in Manteo.  In addition to the Stick paintings, the Center’s holdings comprise nearly 300,000 manuscripts, photographs, books and maps.  For  more information, contact  the Center at (252) 473-2655 or by e-mail at obhc@ncdcr.gov.

This art exhibition is included in Aquarium admission.  Visit www.ncaquariums.com or call 252-473-3494 or 1-866-332-3475 for more information about Hooked! and the many other Aquarium exhibits and programs.

The North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island invites you to “Be a Child at the Aquarium.” On December 12 and 13 all adults visiting the aquarium will receive the child admission price of $7.  Check out the 285,000-gallon Graveyard of the Atlantic exhibit, featuring the 10:30 a.m. “Dialogue with a Diver” program.  Other exhibits include Wetland on the Edge, Saltwater Gallery, two touch tanks and the new Oceans Revealed: Power of the Planet exhibit.   Have your photo taken by FotoFx, while you share your experience with your children or grand children.  Open 9-5 daily, call 252-473-3494 or visit www.ncaquariums.com for more information.

Monday, December 22, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This day is nothing but fish.  We will feed fish at the Aquarium, make an assortment of fishy crafts to keep or give as gifts, and go fishing (weather permitting).  Ages 8-12; Cost $30; Preregistration required.  Call 252-473-3494 ext. 232.

Monday, December 21, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. How do animals survive in the dark?  On the shortest day of the year, learn about nocturnal and deep sea animals.  Make sand and shell candles to light the night or give as gifts.  Ages 8-12; Cost $30; Preregistration required. Call 252-473-3494 ext. 232.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Ever wonder what the Aquarium animals eat? Spend a day learning what it takes to feed our sharks, otters, and other residents. Observe mealtime in action.  Ages 8-12; Cost $30; Preregistration is required. Call 252-473-3494 ext. 232.

Children ages 3-5 will enjoy these one-hour sessions on a wide variety of aquatic and marine topics.  Costumes, crafts activities, and live animals will focus on a different animal or subject for each class.  Cost $6; Limited to 10.  For more information on time and dates, call 252-473-3494 ext. 232.

Venture behind the scenes of the Graveyard of the Atlantic exhibit with an educator to observe one of the weekly shark feedings.  Get an up-close look as all of the fishes and sharks are fed.  Learn more about shark facts and myths in an Aquarium classroom while enjoying a light snack.  Due to safety issues, visitors aren’t allowed to feed the sharks.  Closed-toe shoes are required.  Cost $15; limit 10; Ages 8 and up.  Preregistration is required by calling 252-473-3494 ext. 232 or 1-866-332-3475 ext. 232.