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Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Fossils, football, food and freebies

Mystic Aquarium announces series of family events in February
By Dale Wolbrink

Throughout the month of February, Mystic Aquarium is hosting special events for the whole family. Weekend activities will focus on fossils, football, food and, of course, fun!

On February 3&4, 2018, from 11:00am to 2:00pm, guests will have the opportunity to get up-close to living fossils including jellies and juvenile horseshoe crabs.  Jellies have inhabited the ocean planet for millions of years- even before dinosaurs!  Learn more about jellies from Mystic Aquarium aquarists while getting closer than ever to this remarkable species.

As part of Mystic Aquarium’s ongoing horseshoe crab conservation, Mystic Aquarium has partnered with Charles River Laboratories in the rearing of horseshoe crabs to increase public knowledge of the species and their importance. Check out some  ‘pint-sized‘ horseshoe crabs and learn more about our Horseshoe Crab Monitoring program, Citizen Science programs and much more during Living Fossils Up Close, Saturday and Sunday, February 3&4. All activities are free with membership or paid admission.


On Sunday, February 4, 2018, in honor of the New England’s history-making tenth visit to the Big Game, Mystic Aquarium is proud to host a “Tailgator” pre-game promotion. Guests sporting a Patriots jersey will receive a 25% discount off admission.  Show your support of our favorite Animal Rescue Program fan Trey Flowers and the entire team prior to the game! 

After ‘sharing the love’ for the Pats, Mystic Aquarium shines a spotlight on sweethearts with Valentine’s Family Weekend, February 10&11. Each day from 11:00am- 3:00pm, activities include a love bug arts and crafts, a sweetheart social, love letter exchange and love song karaoke.  Valentine’s Family Weekend activities are free for Aquarium members or with admission.

A Mystic Aquarium Valentine’s tradition continues with a sweetheart of a deal. Guests visiting Saturday, Sunday or Wednesday, February 10, 11 or 14 receive one FREE admission with the purchase of a full-priced ticket when purchased in-person day of visit.

For those whose one true love is the African penguin, there is plenty of heartwarming activities planned for February. The ever-popular Pancakes with Penguins event is scheduled for February 11 from 8:00am to 9:30am and Pizza with Penguins is set for February 24 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm.

Ocean Blue Catering presents its annual South African Wine Dinner on Saturday, February 17, 2018 from 6:30pm to 9:30pm. Guests enjoy a multi-course meal paired with exotic South African wines while helping to save the endangered African penguin populations. A portion of the proceeds from each ticket sold benefits Mystic Aquarium’s mission programs of conservation, education and research. Tickets for these three penguin-themed events can be purchased by visiting the event page of MysticAquarium.org.

From February 1- 13, sweethearts may enter for a chance to win the perfect date at Mystic Aquarium with the Valentine’s Day Ultimate Date Night VIP Sweepstakes complete with a dinner for two at the  South African Wine Dinner and an overnight stay at the Hilton Mystic. Entries will be accepted on Mystic Aquarium’s official Facebook page.

A host of activities are also planned for ‘Tropical Sunsations’ during February school vacation.

As part of the “Cabin Fever” promotion to help fight the winter blues, Mystic Aquarium is offering a 15% discount on all tickets purchased online at MysticAquarium.org.