Community members are invited to celebrate World Oceans Day (WOD) at the Sea Center on Stearns Wharf with free admission for all, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, June 10. The event is sponsored by the UCSB Associated Students Coastal Fund.
“World Oceans Day acknowledges our beautiful, blue planet and is a reminder that we are all interconnected,” said Tessa Cafritz, Sea Center naturalist and volunteer program manager, a co-organizer of WOD at the Sea Center.
“I hope that people visiting the Sea Center’s celebration experience a deeper connection to our Santa Barbara Channel,” she said.
In addition to exploring the Sea Center’s interactive exhibits, guests can enjoy storytime, crafts, and an appearance by the Sea Center’s Toothy the Shark.
The Sea Center features life-size models of a gray whale mother and calf; touch pool habitats where guests can touch sea stars and sea anemones; a Wet Deck modeled after a scientific research vessel’s lab; and Shark Cove, where visitors can get up close with small local sharks.
At 3:30 p.m. there will be a fireboat display by Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol. Other scheduled activities are:
• Storytime, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
• Meet Toothy the Shark, 11:15 a.m. and 1:15 p.m.
“Our planet is made up of mostly water, and the connectedness of its oceans can serve as a powerful reminder that we are all called to good stewardship of the world’s marine life and ecosystems,” said Rachel Met, Sea Center School & Community Programs specialist, and co-organizer of WOD at the Sea Center.
“Our community, specifically, has such a special role to play,” she said. “Worldwide, the Santa Barbara Channel is acknowledged as an ecologically and geographically precious, unique location.”
The Sea Center’s upstairs exhibit, Dive In: Our Changing Channel, highlights the habitats of the biodiverse region.
From 10 a.m.-3 p.m. visitors can talk with the Sea Center’s event partners, including Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, Channel Islands Naturalist Corps, California Department of Fish & Wildlife, UCSB’s Caselle Lab, Chumash Indian Museum, Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, Channel Islands Restoration, Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Landing, and Lil’ Toot.
Members of the museum and Sea Center will be eligible to win a 60-minute boat trip for up to 19 guests on Lil’ Toot, the harbor’s waterfront taxi. The package is valued at $175.
Members can enter the drawing by either attending World Oceans Day at the Sea Center or by joining/renewing membership onsite at the Sea Center between World Oceans Day and June 30.
No reservations required. For more information and upcoming events, visit sbnature.org/calendar.