Coastal Companion

Your ultimate guide to the coast

South Carolina Aquarium Celebrates 10 Years

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This weekend, May 14 – 16, 2010,  you can help celebrate the Aquarium’s 10-year birthday with fun, fish and feedings.  Enjoy special dive shows, unique feedings, animal enrichment programs, a mascot parade, crafts and more! Enjoy special celebratory programs at the:10s of each hour.   Check out the newest addition to the Aquarium, a rare albino alligator and watch as this jaw-dropping reptile is fed breakfast at the Gator Feeding Program; catch a glimpse of a fishy cake in the Great Ocean Tank at the ‘Hang 10 with the Divers’ dive shows; watch as one of the Magellanic penguins goes Picasso with Penguin Art, and participate in an Aquarium-wide Mascot Parade including four Aquarium mascots, educators, volunteers and the crowd-pleasing Waddle Wagon.   For a limited-time only, make sure to check out the new historical timeline display which takes you through the years of the Aquarium detailing major events, animal acquisitions, accomplishments and more.

Aquarium guests will not want to miss these Birthday Celebration Programs:

Especially for the early birds!
Visitors can join educators first thing in the morning for a favorite returning program, Harbor Happenings at 9:10 a.m. Enjoy complimentary coffee by our friends from Charleston Coffee Roasters as you hear more about the creatures that swim and play in the harbor.

Happy Birthday Otters!
A species that has been around since the Aquarium opened, watch as the otters are given a life-size birthday cake at 10:10 a.m.! Enjoy seeing them climb and play in this interactive wooden cake during an activity that helps enrich their daily lives.

It’s our party and we will put cake in the tank if we want to!
Join educators and staff for a very special Interactive Dive Show, ‘Hang Ten with the Divers,’ at 11:10 a.m., where guests will participate in a 10-year game show and watch what happens when you put Cake in the Tank!

Alligator Breakfast
Watch as the newest addition to the Aquarium, a rare, one of 50 in the world, albino alligator is fed breakfast! A jaw-dropping experience for the whole family, don’t miss this exclusive, never-before-seen-by-the-public Gator Feeding at 12:10 p.m.

Call that penguin Picasso!
Enjoy a one-of-a-kind activity at 1:10 p.m.: Penguin Art. An activity known as animal enrichment, watch as one of our Magellanic penguins creates its own artwork with paint on canvas!

Gator and Penguin and Otter, Oh My!
Join in as Aquarium staff, volunteers, the four Aquarium mascots, and one of our Magellanic penguins come together for a Birthday Mascot Parade through the Great Hall at 2:10 p.m. Afterwards, get your picture taken with the mascots and watch as the penguins of Penguin Planet are fed their afternoon snack.
It’s our party and we will put cake in the tank if we want to! Join educators and staff for a very special Interactive Dive Show, ‘Hang Ten with the Divers,’ at 3:10 p.m., where guests will participate in a 10-year game show and watch what happens when you put Cake in the Tank!
It’s been ten turtle-rific years! Join us at 4:10 p.m. for an exclusive Sea Turtle Rescue Program show with a live turtle. Learn more about the treatments and therapies used to rehabilitate the sick and injured sea turtles and how you can help all endangered sea turtle species.

Birthday bliss and festive activities abound for guests of all ages with a weekend focused on celebrating our guests, members and community. Swim on over to the Aquarium for some fun May 14 – May 16, 2010. For more information, visit scaquarium.org or call (843) 577-FISH (3474).

Magellanic Penguins to be highlight of Aquarium’s new exhibit Penguin Planet

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Charleston, S.C. – January 13, 2009 – The South Carolina Aquarium confirmed today that Magellanic penguins will be arriving soon to inhabit the new temporary exhibit, Penguin Planet. The animals will be on loan from SeaWorld.

Penguin Planet SC Aqurium courtesy of SeaWorld
Penguin Planet SC Aqurium courtesy of SeaWorld

Opening March 2009, Penguin Planet will host a Magellanic penguin habitat and 550 square feet of exhibit space. Guests will have the opportunity to see these aquatic flightless birds firsthand through the exhibits 10 foot wide window allowing for underwater viewing. Included in general admission, Penguin Planet will delight and educate visitors through its awe-inspiring Magellanic penguins, children’s interactive learning games, educational exhibits on climate change effects in South Carolina and daily programs.

Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) are a near threatened species distinguished by two brown stripes on their chests. They are small birds ranging from 24-28 inches tall and average 8-11 pounds in weight. Magellanic penguins are typically found in the Falkland Islands, Chile and Argentina coasts. They prey on small fishes and invertebrates. Natural predators for the birds include Southern sea lions, leopard seals, and Patagonian foxes. A near threatened species, there is estimated to be only 1,300,000 pairs of Magellanic penguins in the world.

An accredited institution by the Association of Zoo’s and Aquarium’s (AZA), the South Carolina Aquarium’s Penguin Planet exhibit has approval from the rigorous AZA Penguin Taxon advisory group. AZA is the leading accrediting organization for zoos and aquariums and accredits only those institutions that have achieved meticulous standards for animal health, education, wildlife conservation and science. With approximately 2,400 animal exhibitors licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture, only 10% of the institutions are accredited.

Penguin Planet SC Aquarium. Photo: SeaWorld
Penguin Planet SC Aquarium. Photo: SeaWorld