Waikiki Get Down - Honolulu, Hawaii
Event Calendar ItemEnjoy Afternoons At The Aquarium, Behind The Scenes Tours, Exploring The Reef At Night And More At The Waikiki Aquarium
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Date: NOVEMBER - DECEMBER
Time: see notes
Location:
2777 Kalakaua Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96815
Phone: 808-923-9741
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Cost: see notes
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ENJOY AFTERNOONS AT THE AQUARIUM, BEHIND THE SCENES TOURS, EXPLORING THE REEF AT NIGHT AND MORE AT THE WAIKIKI AQUARIUM
This November and December, the Waikiki Aquarium is making a splash with a line-up of fun, family-friendly educational events. Enjoy a leisurely afternoon feeding the animals, explore the ocean reef at night, or bring the kids for some educational crafts.
Afternoons at the Aquarium
Wednesdays at 3 p.m.
• November 20 -- Food chain presentation & pinwheels craft
• November 27 -- Surgeonfish presentation & Feed Limu to Fish
• December 4 -- What's puzzling about Hawaiian Monk Seals?
• December 11 -- Fish art with special guest artist Anita Bradley
• December 18 -- Sea Urchin presentation & critter encounter
• December 25 -- Closed for Christmas holiday
Looking for something to do after school? The Waikiki Aquarium offers keiki a whale of a time with educational activities on the Aquarium lawn every Wednesday. Enjoy crafting a food chain pinwheel, feeding limu to fish, examining marine animals and more. Activities range from 10 to 20 minutes and are designed for ages 4 to 8, but everyone is welcome. Participation in Afternoons at the Aquarium is included in daily admission.
Behind the Scenes
Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 3 p.m.
Tuesday, December 10 at 3 p.m.
Learn what makes the Aquarium run, from fish food to quarantine, and many stops in between. Climb-up and peer into the exhibits to see how they are created and visit the Coral Farm to see where coral is propagated. Minimum age 7 years; youngsters must be accompanied by an adult. Accessibility is limited. Groups of ten or less are welcome. $12/adult, $8/child ($15/$10 for non-members).
Exploring the Reef at Night
Tuesday, December 23 from 6 to 8 p.m.
Tuesday, December 30 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Wade into the ocean on these wet and wild excursions, where guests search for night-active crabs, lobsters, eels and octopuses. Look for sleeping parrotfish, triggerfish and day octopus in their dens. For adventurers ages 6 years and up; youngsters much be accompanied by an adult. Participants should be comfortable in the ocean, both day and night. $15/adult, $9/child ($18/12 for non-members).
Meet the Monk Seals
Tuesdays, November 19 and December 3 and 17, at 3 p.m.
More sightings of seals around the main Hawaiian Islands have renewed interest in these amazing and endangered animals. Learn about seals in the wild: What do they eat? How deep do they dive while hunting? Do they really have fingernails? Then, move to the monk seal habitat where Aquarium Biologists will introduce you to the resident seals, Maka Onaona and Ho'ailona. Participants will assist with seal enrichment activities. Designed for participants 7 and up, but anyone interested is invited to attend. $7/person ($10/person for non-members).
Holiday Hunt
Bring the whole family for a holiday-inspired animal "scavenger hunt." Can you find the peppermint angelfish or the Hawaiian turkeyfish? How about the snowflake moray eel or a hidden snowman in the exhibits? Beginning Dec. 16, families will receive a holiday-inspired scavenger hunt with admission to the Aquarium while supplies last.
LISTEN TO GREAT INTERVIEW
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Founded in 1904 and administered by the University of Hawai'i at Manoa since 1919, the Waikiki Aquarium is located on the shoreline of Waikiki Beach next to a living reef and across from Kapiolani Park. The Aquarium -- second oldest in the U.S. -- showcases more than 500 marine species, and maintains more than 3,500 marine specimens. Public exhibits, education programs and research focus on the unique aquatic life of Hawai'i and the tropical Pacific.
The Aquarium welcomes more than 320,000 visitors annually, and is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except Honolulu Marathon Sunday and Christmas Day. Admission is $12 for visitors; $8 for local residents and active duty military with ID, $5 for senior citizens and juniors ages four to 12; and free for children three and under and Friends of Waikiki Aquarium (FOWA) members.
MISSION:
To inspire and promote understanding, appreciation and conservation of Pacific marine life.
DESCRIPTION:
Founded in 1904, the Waikiki Aquarium is the third oldest public aquarium in the United States. A part of the University of Hawai`i at Manoa since 1919, it is located next to a living reef on the Waikiki shoreline. Exhibits, programs, and research focus on the aquatic life of Hawai`i and the tropical Pacific, with roughly 320,000 people visiting the Aquarium each year. Over 3,500 organisms are on exhibit representing more than 500 species of aquatic animals and plants.
EXHIBITS:
Waikiki Aquarium exhibits focus on the diversity of aquatic, shoreline and coral reef habitats and living communities of Hawai`i and the tropical Pacific. Among the highlights:
- Corals Are Alive! interactive exhibits showcasing corals, their biology and conservation
- Sea Visions Theatre shows videos that illustrate shoreline conservation and how you can be a responsible reef visitor
- South Pacific Marine Communities features South Pacific habitats and species, including colorful reef corals and fishes,giant clams, groupers and snappers and intriguing partnerships such asanemone fishes and their host sea anemones
- Hawaiian Marine Communities recreates Hawaiian habitats from wave-swept surge zone to deep reef slopes, and from young to ancient reefs; celebrates distinctive reef life, including the longnose butterfly fish
- Ocean Drifters Gallery features a1,000-gallon moon jelly tank and a seasonally changing jelly wall that may contain white-spotted jellies, blue blubbers, sea nettles, box jellies and ctenophores
- Hunters on the Reef 35,000-gallon exhibits home to Hawaiian sharks and jacks; shark interpretive panels introduce shark biology, research, conservation and safety. New Spyball camera provides up close shark encounters in real time on a television screen
- Edge of the Reef naturalistic shoreline exhibit offering opportunities for supervised observation and hands-on interactions with selected marine life
- The Coral Farm exhibit and working research facility for propagation of reef corals
- Giant Clams exhibit and working research facility for propagation of clams
- Hawaiian Monk Seal Habitat features the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal found only in the Hawaiian Islands
- Aquaculture features moi, a popular food fish, whose numbers have declined in the wild
- Coastal Gardens with native Hawaiian plants adapted for life close to the sea
ENDANGERED SPECIES:
Hawaiian monk seals; ‘öhai (endemic Hawaiian coastal plant)
UNIQUE SPECIES:
Pacific giant clams; Hawaiian stream gobies; raredeep-reef butterflyfish; bearded armorheads; masked angelfish; and diversenative coastal plants
CONSERVATION & RESEARCH:
The Waikiki Aquarium is a working research facility,conducting numerous conservation and research programs, including:
- Husbandry, nutrition and behavior of aquatic and marineaquarium specimens
- Husbandry and propagation of chamberednautilus
- Spawning behavior, larval rearing, and propagationpotential of selected reef fishes
- Identification & treatment of diseases, parasiteinfections and other ailments of aquarium marine life
- Coral husbandry, propagation and conservation
- Hawaiian monk seal metabolic and bacteriologicalresearch
- Giant clam husbandry and propagation
- Sea jelly husbandry and propagation
- Deep reef coral research
- Coral Ark: archiving and husbandry of rare Hawaiiancorare deep-reefrals
EDUCATION PROGRAMS:
The Waikiki Aquarium offers numerous education programs,including:
- Interpretive services: staff or volunteers enrich the visitor experience with explanations of the exhibits, demonstrations, and hands-on experiences
- Self-tour opportunities for individuals and groups: interpretive graphics & exhibits, handouts are available.
- School Program: presentations and docent-assisted tours for school groups, grades K - 6
- Outreach and special request presentations for schools and community groups
- Community Enrichment Program: year-round natural history field trips, classes, and workshops for children, families, and adults
- Information services: staff answer questions from visitors & community on marine and aquarium-science related topics
OPPORTUNITIES:
The Waikiki Aquarium affords a number of opportunities to get involved through:
- Membership: Join the Friends of the Waikïkï Aquarium (FOWA) to enjoy the annual benefits of free admission, 20% discount at the Natural Selections gift shop, quarterly mailings of our beautiful and informative magazine Kilo i'a, free salt water pick-up, and facility rental privileges at "Family" and "Family Plus" levels. To select the membership level right for you,please see the Visitor Services staff or contact Events and Membership Manager Raina Fujitani at (808) 440-9008 for more information.
- Volunteerism: When you donate your time and curiosity to the Waikiki Aquarium, you are rewarded with diverse and challenging opportunities to help make a difference!
- Education-- Docents provide on-site presentations and tours to elementary school groups and provide outreach programs for school and community groups. Interpreters at the Edge of the Reef exhibit assist visitors and provide up-close observations of Hawaiian marine life.
- Live Exhibits -- Assist with husbandry, tank maintenance and feeding.
- Natural Selection Shop -- Assist with stocking inventory and sales.
- Membership/PublicRelations/Special Events - Assist with bulk mail outs & communications with Aquarium members, public relations surveys, record-keeping and special events.
AWARDS:
The Waikiki Aquarium has received several awards for its research and conservation efforts, including:
- 2008 Keep It Hawai`i Award
- 2003 Munson Aquatic Conservation Exhibit (M.A.C.E.) Award from the American Zoo & Aquarium Association (AZA) for South Pacific Marine Communities exhibit
- 2003 Edward H. Bean Award from AZA for Long Term Tropical Pacific Coral Propagation Program
DIRECTOR: Dr. Andrew Rossiter
EMPLOYEES: 35 full-time, 36 part-time, 33 affiliate staff
HOURS: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily (except Honolulu Marathon Sunday and Christmas Day)
ADMISSION: $12 for visitors; $8 for local residents and active duty military with ID, $5 for senior citizens and juniors ages four to 12; and free for children three and under and Friends of Waikiki Aquarium (FOWA) members.
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