暑假結束前，四位丫丫小記者 、、和 興奮來到位於長灘的太平洋水族館，與館內的 Educators Amy 和 Eliot 請教了許多海洋生物和水族館的知識，又與參觀展覽的小朋友們開心互動，過了一個寓學習於娛樂的一天。一起來看看幾位小記者的海洋之旅吧！

不要以為太平洋水族館只是個展示海洋生物的展覽館，自1998年成立以來，它一直致力於研究太平洋的海洋生物，將重要的海洋知識介紹給每個南加州居民，今年是太平洋水族館 20週年慶，將會舉行許多慶祝活動，年底更會有全新款銀幕電影院開放，精彩可期，千萬不要錯過丫丫小記者的報導喔！

水族館有近 500 個品種超過 11,000 隻海洋生物，分別展示了太平洋的三個主要海域：南加州 Baja California 的溫暖海水區域、冰冷的北太洋區域，以及熱帶太平洋區域。其他展區包括：熱帶雀鳥林、Penguin Habitat (企鵝棲息地) 。

除了自己參觀，你還可以參加導覽團，置身水底世界，與鯊魚、鰻魚、熱帶珊瑚礁和巨型太平洋八爪魚親密接觸，並嘗試餵魚的體驗，更可以進入館內非公眾開放區域，從用水過濾到照料動物，觀看和了解水族館的運作。

Aquarium of the Pacific

Address: 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach, CA 90802

  

  

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Kyran Lin (10)

Glup…Glup…Glup. On August 12, Karen, Isabel, and I went to the Aquarium of the Pacific located in Long Beach, California to interview….fish? When I was in fifth grade, I took a field trip here. I had a blast! The biggest change from when I left was the remodel. They were changing the theme to Pacific Visions, a new opening at the Aquarium of the Pacific.

When we first walked in, The changes amazed me. The remodel, the new exhibits, and new sea animals! At first, we were wandering around when t  hen the Ocean Science Center opened up. The show was about our radioactive planet. I never knew that our planet was radioactive! As we left, this is was when we found Elliot, the educator. When we interviewed him, he took us to the Education Center. This also brought back memories from the field trip. We also got touched the sea anemones and the starfishes.
After we interviewed him, we went to the Northern Pacific Gallery. The exhibit was filled with jellyfish, sea otters, fish, and other sea animals. The main exhibit that everyone was absorbed around was the sea otters. We were learning about sea otters’ habitat, eating habits, and conservation issues. Otters were doing tricks like backflips and flip turns during the show. After the show, we interviewed the otter trainer, Amy. All the trainers and volunteers are very passionate about conserve of sea life.
Soon after that, we explored every corner of the museum, we decided to head outside. The outdoor area included the Lorikeet forest, a stage, and the shark lagoon. We headed straight towards the shark lagoon. The touching pool inside shark lagoon have bamboo sharks, epaulette sharks, fiddler rays, and cownose rays. All the kids were so excited to touch a shark in person. This was also probably one of my favorite exhibits too! It was even more crowded than the otter show.
At the end of the day, I learned a lot of new things about sea life. This interview experience changed my perspective of sea animals. I’m really excited to come back and see the new remodel!

Kyran and his aquatic friends

Karen Shi (13)

Long Beach is a great place to go if you live in California, or if you’re coming here for vacation. But alongside the sandy beach and exquisite food, the coastal city is also home to more than eleven thousand sea creatures. From sharks to starfish to sea anemone, the Aquarium of the Pacific has it all. Right away, you would notice the beautiful fountain in front of the aquarium’s entrance. My journey through the Pacific Ocean last week started there.

We entered the aquarium and just stood there; Isabel, Kyran, Ryan, and I; admiring the enormous whale statue hanging from the sky-high ceiling. Our mission was to learn more about the aquarium through the people there. After touring around the Southern California and Baja Gallery, the Tropical Pacific Gallery, and the Northern Pacific gallery, we headed outdoors to see the shark exhibit.

I asked some young children on their thoughts and feelings about the aquarium. Many of them absolutely loved the shark exhibition, a hands-on experience outdoors where they could touch small, harmless sharks with two fingers.

There are more than 600 volunteers at the Aquarium of the Pacific, and because the shark exhibition was so popular, I asked Joshua, a volunteer at the booth, a little about his job. He is part of the educational program, promoting awareness about sharks. He also makes schedules for some of the other workers at the aquarium.

Overall, my experience at the Aquarium of the Pacific was great. Be one of the 1.5 million people that visit the aquarium each year! The 20th anniversary of the aquarium is on August 30th. Be sure to check it out! I had so much fun there. The underwater world is totally a “must – sea.”

Junior journalists Karen and Isabel

Isabel Lau (13)

Oceans make up much of planet Earth. At one point or another, most have gained an interest in the topic of the ocean and what lies in it. At the Aquarium of the Pacific, there is so much knowledge you can gain. It’s also plenty of fun, good for adults and children!

Four of the junior journalists, I myself included, went to the Aquarium of the Pacific and learned a lot there while having tons of fun! Right outside of the Aquarium stood a gorgeous fountain that had two dolphins jumping as a design. I also observed the few schoolbuses and many children lining up, ready for a fun, educational day at the Aquarium. We entered the building to find a wondrous interior. On the right, a tall diving display stood, and looked so beautiful when the sunlight seeped through. The diver was splendid, showcasing epic skills that attracted much attention from the visitors. Hanging above the crowd was a giant replica of a blue whale of the same size. It was spectacular. People crowded the walkways, upstairs and downstairs, buzzing with excitement to see their favorite animals.

The four of us first attended a spinning globe projection show, called Our Water Future, which discussed the environmental issues being inflicted on planet Earth today, and how if we don’t find a way to fix these issues, there will be atrocious consequences for the inhabitants of this world to suffer. The show truly opened my eyes and made me much more aware of environmental problems that the world is facing currently, including trash waste and water conservation. As we explored the aquarium a bit more, I noticed how dedicated this place was to saving our environment. There were a number of plaques to read that displayed information about our world. We then scored an interview with an educator at the museum whose name was Eliot Freutel. He disclosed some information about his time working at the aquarium and along with the other interviewees, told us about how friendly the work environment is, and that they all have a common goal: to protect our habitat.

Afterwards, we visited some more exhibits including the Shark Lagoon and Frogs: Dazzling and Disappearing, with various creatures including stingray, fish, sharks, frogs, and more. We then proceeded to the sea otter feeding, where we met Amy Peterson, an educator and interpreter at the Aquarium of the Pacific. She has worked especially with sea otters, and says that the experience is wonderful. Working with animals is much different than working with humans, and has its ups and downs. After wrapping up our brief chat with Amy, we headed out to the Harbor Terrace.

The Harbor Terrace is a popular place for little children especially, as there are some fun water springs, musicals are held, and you can touch the sharks and have a full on interaction with them. We approached Joshua, a teen helper at the Aquarium of the Pacific and proceeded to ask him questions about his experience at the aquarium. After a lovely conversation with him, we found some young children and asked them about the aquarium and their favorite animals. Their answers were so adorable!

With that, we concluded our trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific. It was educational, fun, and a great experience overall. I highly recommend you go and check it out. It has various different events you can check out, be sure you don’t miss it! Make sure to visit the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach!