Turtle Mania at Maui Ocean Center
CALENDAR LISTINGS
Event: Turtle Mania
Synopsis: Dive into the exciting world of sea turtles with Turtle Mania! All month long, special presentations, interactive programs, contests and more will highlight one of Hawaii's most beloved ocean-dwellers, green sea turtles.
Where: Maui Ocean Center
Dates: August 1 - 31, 2009
Time: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Event: Turtle Tour Package
Synopsis: Learn how to care for turtles in an aquarium. Help prepare and learn what goes into nutritious turtle food, assist in a supervised feeding, discover the story behind Maui Ocean Center's turtles, and learn what happens to the turtles when they are released to the ocean! Package includes lunch, snack, or dessert from the Reef Café.
Where: Maui Ocean Center
Dates: August 5, 12, 19, 26
Time: 11:30 a.m.
Cost: $15.00 plus tax for adults and children ages 3-12, does not include admission
Reservations: Highly Recommended. Call (808)270-7089.
Event: Turtle-rrific Thursdays
Synopsis: Learn about Hawaii's beloved ocean-dwellers, the green sea turtles, in a relaxed atmosphere with Maui Ocean Center's talented curators and volunteers. Casual talks will include information on turtle biology, behavior, diet, and more. This interactive program is appropriate for adults and children.
Where: Turtle Lagoon
Dates: Thursdays
Time: 1:45 p.m.
Cost: Included with park admission
Event: Book Signings
Synopsis: Visit popular children's author Stacy Nyikos and her storybook friends Shelby, Squirt, and Dizzy! Copies of Shelby, Squirt, and Dizzy, along with colorful character plush will be available for purchase in the Maui Ocean Center Store.
Where: Maui Ocean Center Store
Dates: August 7, 14
Time: 12-3 p.m.
Cost: Included with park admission. Gift shop-only entrance is available through the Front Gate and does not include the viewing of aquarium exhibits.
Event: No Ka `Oi Friday
Synopsis: Once a month, Maui Ocean Center perpetuates its name as the "Hawaiian Aquarium" by sharing its Aloha spirit and love for Hawaiian culture with a fun No Ka `Oi Friday! Enjoy special Hawaiian cultural activities including traditional games and crafts, a tour with the aquarium's enthusiastic volunteer staff, a delicious island-style plate lunch special, and more!
Where: Maui Ocean Center
Dates: Friday, August 28, 2009
Times: Activities from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., lunch from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Cost: Included with park admission (excludes lunch specials and any upgrades)
The public is invited to Maui Ocean Center to dive into the world of sea turtles with Turtle Mania! All month long in August, special presentations, interactive programs, contests and more will highlight one of Hawaii's most beloved ocean-dwellers, green sea turtles. Available exclusively during Turtle Mania, guests can upgrade to the interactive Turtle Tour Package, in which participants will learn how turtles are cared for at Maui Ocean Center. Aquarium hours are extended to 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. in August.
Throughout the month, several programs will take place that are complimentary with aquarium admission, including special presentations, children's activities, a turtle birthday bash, and No Ka `Oi Friday on August 28. Ocean Naturalist presentations which will take place at the Turtle Lagoon at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., will focus on turtle biology and behavior. Children's activities will include a special Turtle Mania activity page available on Maui Ocean Center's website and in the park at the Front Gate, and an intriguing Story Time every Saturday at 11:30 a.m. Story Time takes place in the Hawaiians and the Sea Exhibit and is followed by a fun craft.
Turtle Tour Package
The public can learn how to care for turtles in an aquarium with the Turtle Tour Package, offered at 11:30 a.m. every Wednesday during Turtle Mania. Participants will learn all about turtle biology, how to protect this threatened species, help prepare nutritious turtle food and assist in a supervised feeding of Maui Ocean Center's sea turtles. The Turtle Tour includes a complimentary lunch, snack or dessert from the Reef Café. The Turtle Tour Package is offered exclusively during Turtle Mania and is appropriate for ages 6 and up. Cost is $15.00 per person including gratuity and tax and does not include aquarium admission. Reservations are highly recommended, the public may call 270-7089.
Turtle-rrific Thursdays
Turtle-rrific Thursdays kicks off during Turtle Mania in August. The new interactive program is given every Thursday at 1:45 p.m. in Turtle Lagoon by the aquarium's talented curatorial and volunteer staff. Turtle-rrific Thursdays is an ideal way for guests to learn about Hawaii's beloved ocean-dwellers in a relaxed atmosphere, speaking with the curators who care for these animals on a day-to-day basis. Casual talks will include information on the turtles' special diet while at the aquarium, their behavior, biology, and more. Guests of all ages will enjoy these up-close encounters with the six green sea turtles at Maui Ocean Center.
Book Signings
Playful storybook friends Shelby, Squirt, and Dizzy are back at Maui Ocean Center! Popular children's author Stacy Nyikos will be in the Maui Ocean Center Store on Friday, August 7 and Friday, August 14 from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. for book signings. Copies of Nyikos' award-winning books, Shelby, Squirt, and Dizzy will be available for purchase in the Store, along with colorful plush of the story's characters. All three books are beautifully illustrated and embrace valuable life lessons for children.
Brand New 'Marine Adventure'
During Turtle Mania, guests can download and print out the new 'Marine Adventure' activity sheet here or find it and others in the Just for Kids section under Activities, and fill out the answers at Maui Ocean Center and turn in the form at the Information Booth. One answer form will be randomly drawn at the end of the month and will win a turtle prize package. The Marine Adventure activity sheet is appropriate for most ages and can be answered by viewing the aquarium's exhibits, reading the signage or using the interactive displays.
No Ka `Oi Friday
The Hawaiian Aquarium shares another round of aloha and the culture of Hawaii on Friday, August 28. There will be a variety of traditional activities and music centered around the rich Hawaiian culture for guests to experience. Guests will also enjoy the local flavors of the tasty plate lunch special offered in the Seascape Ma`alaea Restaurant and shopping discounts in the Maui Ocean Center Store. Activities typically take place between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and lunch is served in the restaurant from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Turtles at Maui Ocean Center
Maui Ocean Center currently has six yearling green sea turtles on exhibit in one of the aquarium's largest outdoor exhibits, the Turtle Lagoon. While at Maui Ocean Center, they are fed a primarily vegetarian diet, including algae brought from the ocean, to prepare them for their eventual release into the ocean. The juvenile turtles, which moved into Turtle Lagoon one year ago, were captive-bred at Sea Life Park by Dolphin Discovery on Oahu. Sea Life Park is home to a colony of adult Hawaiian green sea turtles which has produced from 200 to 300 hatchlings each year, all of which are released into the wild. A few of these, like the six at the Maui Ocean Center, and those kept at Sea Life Park or other collaborating institutions, become part of the Hawaii Green Sea Turtle Educational Loan Program and are released at a later age to provide an educational opportunity for those that visit these institutions.
Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle Educational Loan Program
In cooperation with the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), this program is specifically designed as an educational outreach program geared towards education, conservation, and the enhancement of the public's awareness of the oceans and its inhabitants. Approved inter-island facilities participate by providing an appropriate permitted public turtle display environment as well as comprehensive educational information such as appropriate signage and written information that is available to the public. When the hatchlings reach the ages of two to three years, under the authority and approval of NMFS, they are released into Hawaiian waters at a location approved by the agency. Sea Life Park Hawaii replaces those turtles released with new hatchlings in order to maintain each facility's educational display program.
Turtles in Hawaii
Of the seven species of sea turtle in the world, five are found in Hawaii. The green sea turtle, hawksbill and leatherback are considered native to Hawaii, and the loggerhead and olive Ridleys are rare visitors. Green sea turtles, known as honu in Hawaiian, are the largest hard-shelled sea turtle in the world, and the most common sea turtle in Hawaii. As adults, honu mainly eat algae and sea grasses, which turn their fat layer green, giving them their common name. Green sea turtles are listed as 'threatened' under the Endangered Species Act.
The mission of Maui Ocean Center is to foster understanding, wonder and respect for Hawaii's marine life. This state-of-the-art aquarium was named Hawaii's top attraction by the Zagat Survey US Family Travel Guide. Open daily from 9 to 5, and from 9 to 6 in July and August. For more information please contact the Maui Ocean Center: 192 Ma'alaea Road; Ma'alaea, HI 96793; telephone (808) 270-7000, facsimile (808) 270-7070, info@mauioceancenter.com or visit www.mauioceancenter.com