Celebrate Shark Week at SEA LIFE Minnesota

At SEA LIFE Minnesota, we live every week like it's shark week; but even so, a stop to the Aquarium is the perfect way to celebrate one of the most exciting weeks of the year! Now through Saturday, August 18 we'll be offering our guests a shark infested experience with even more cool artifacts, activities, and interesting shark facts!

Not to mention, we have a couple cool activities to check-out this week:

Wednesday, August 15, 8:00am - 1:00pm
Shark Week becomes bloodier than ever...

SEA LIFE Minnesota is helping the American Red Cross circle their prey by hosting a blood drive Wednesday, August 15 from 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. The blood drive will be held to help stem the tide of the constant need for blood. As an added incentive, anyone who donates blood will receive a voucher for a free admission to SEA LIFE Minnesota to use at anytime. To set the mood, SEA LIFE also will have a special tank with live sharks in the donor room.


Wednesday, August 15, 2012
8:00AM - 1:00PM
Coral Reef Room at SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium

For appointments please call 1-800-RED-CROSS or Click Here.

All presenting donors get a free admission to SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium! No cash value

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Thursday, August 16, 8:30pm - 11:30pm
Sharks After Dark: Shark Week Edition

Discover over 10,000 sea creatures at SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium... after dark! Snack on the nacho bar and enjoy our Live DJ at the Aquarium. Then, get your game on with a 2-hour unlimited gaming card at Sky Deck in Mall of America (valid only on non-ticketing games). This is an all ages event, but if you're over 21, you may also enjoy drink specials at Sky Deck.

Admission includes:
• Aquarium Admission ($20 value)
• 2 Hours Unlimited Sky Deck Game Card ($20 value)
    Valid only for non-ticketing games 
• Live DJ at Aquarium
• Complimentary Nacho Bar
• Drink Specials at Sky Deck
• Scavenger Hunt
• Fun activities with cool prizes, including: hotel stays, restaurant gift cards, and Nickelodeon Mystery Passes.

SEA LIFE will be asking guests to go to www.sharksavers.org to learn about shark finning and its dangerous effects to the shark population and the ocean's eco-system. Shark finning has become increasingly popular due to shark fin soup which has decreased the population of sharks by as much as 90 percent in certain parts of the oceans during the last 20 years. 

Sleep Under The Sea

Looking for an adventure of a lifetime for your kids? Here at SEA LIFE Minnesota you can experience sleeping under the sea OVERNIGHT!

Get ready for an experience that your group will never forget! This adventure gives you a backstage pass to the aquarium, where you can see all the animals in a very unique way. Sleep beneath sharks, sea turtles, and sting rays, OH MY! This amazing view will take your breath away.

Take a hike around the aquarium, then enjoy a Behind the Scenes tour of our  food-prep kitchen, laboratory and the "top of the tanks" - above the aquarium exhibits and as close as possible to over 150 sharks without getting wet! After you have had a chance to experience the Behind the Scenes tour, we provide a pizza party for your group to refuel, along with doughnuts and juice in the morning. 


We wouldn't let you leave empty handed. Every member of your group receives a souvenir pillow case, spotters guide, and T-shirt to remind them of their awesome time at SEA LIFE Minnesota. So when you are looking for a place to take your family or group on your next outing, come spend the night at SEA LIFE and experience something your kids will be talking about for years!

Reservations for overnight functions must be booked at least two weeks in advance. To reserve the event, please call 952-853-0612 or email sales@sealifeus.com. You can also visit our website for pricing-http://www.visitsealife.com/Minnesota/schools-and-groups/group-adventures/overnight-adventures/

A Seahorse Baby Boom & $5 Off Admission!

Not even the Duggars can compare to the recent baby boom at SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium. Over 200 babies from the Lined Seahorse family have been born over the last few weeks, with 150 of them just recently born about a week ago. The most recent babies are less than a half inch long, while the older juveniles are nearing four inches long. In addition, the aquarium currently has a male Tiger Tail Seahorse displaying signs of pregnancy. This species has yet to be bred at SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium.   SEA LIFE Minnesota has many reasons to be thankful for due to its new bundles of joy. The more seahorses born in captivity equates to less being taken from the wild. With the continued success of our seahorse breeding program, SEA LIFE Minnesota is effectively minimizing the impact on our oceans. Looking forward, the aquarium will work with other zoos and aquariums to trade or swap their “bundles of joy” for other seahorses to help diversify the genetic pool. This is very important to the success of the aquarium’s breeding program. To celebrate the new arrivals, SEA LIFE is having a baby shower to help underprivileged new families with supplies for their own new bundle of joy. SEA LIFE Minnesota is partnering with Bundles of Love, a non-profit which, in 2011, provided baby items to approximately 6,100 families. Any guest(s) that donates new baby wipes, baby lotion or diapers will receive $5 off of Aquarium admission now through July 22nd (limit 6 per item). Click here for more information about SEA LIFE Minnesota's Baby Shower!

Dwarfs No Longer Smallest Sea Horse

Dwarf Sea Horses are the smallest Sea Horse in the world, but are they the tiniest creatures swimming around Sea Horse Kingdom at SEA LIFE Minnesota? More information about the newest addition to the Sea Horse family will be revealed later this week.


Our amazing Sea-STAR of the week is the Dwarf Seahorse, the slowest moving fish in the world, with a top speed of only 5 feet per hour! Don't let their cute size and slow speed fool you, they are actually very intelligent. Our Dwarf Seahorses are kept in small aquariums and fed with delicious brine shrimp, although they also like to feed on copepods and other shrimp larvae. Dwarf Seahorses must be fed continuously throughout the day because of their small size.  


Guests and staff alike enjoy watching them as they float around and link to different plants with their long tails. They spend a majority of their time dancing around the tank and courting the opposite sex.

STAY TUNED to SEA LIFE Minnesota's Blog and Facebook page for a tiny surprise about the newest addition to Sea Horse Kingdom.

SEA LIFE Minnesota Helps Its Duluth Friends – Two or Four Legged

Frenzie the Seal washed away in Duluth Flooding

Whether four-legged or two-legged, SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium wants to help their up-state neighbors in Duluth. With the recent flooding in the Duluth community as well as the Lake Superior Zoo, SEA LIFE Minnesota at Mall of America will be donating $2 of every online ticket sold this weekend (Friday, June 22 – Sunday, June 24) to Lake Superior Zoo. This will help the Zoo pay for needed cleaning supplies and maintenance needs to get the Zoo back to where it was before the flooding. 

Not forgetting about our human friends in Duluth and surrounding cities, SEA LIFE Minnesota will also be offering free admission this weekend to all Duluth residents along with other hard-hit areas including Hermantown, Cloquet, and Carlton, Proctor. The residents will just need to go online to SEA LIFE’s website, print out a voucher, and show their drivers license to receive free admission at the Aquarium this weekend. Full details at  www.sealifeus.com .

The SEA LIFE Animal Care team also understands, but cannot completely comprehend the Zoo’s loss. Ben Minerich, Sr. Aquarist commented, “When an unexpected tragic of this magnitude happens, it is difficult to be prepared to react. The efforts of the Lake Superior Zoo are commendable.” Aquarist Tania Roos added, “Any loss is significant because you grow more and more attached daily to the animals. Our hearts go out to the Lake Superior Zoo.”

Instagram Photo Contest #SEALIFEMN

Show us your SEA LIFE pride! Share your favorite sea creature or aquatic photo via Instagram (a popular photo-sharing app on the iPhone) with the hashtag #SEALIFEMN to be entered to win a family four-pack of tickets to the aquarium! The photo could be of your favorite animal at SEA LIFE Minnesota or just a cool sea creature you have at home.


The photos will be sent to our instagrid #hashtag gallery so make sure you use the tag #SEALIFEMN with the photo to be entered to win a family four-pack of tickets!

To view the photos in the gallery visit http://instagrid.me/tag/sealifemn/ 

The contest will run until June 7th so act fast!

Also, make sure to come check out Turtle Fest here at the aquarium which runs until June 8th which includes discounted tickets, fun for the family, and sea life conservation awareness. WOW!

SEA LIFE Celebrates Turtle Fest

SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium will be celebrating Turtle Fest May 23rd- June 8th with TURTALLY awesome events throughout the aquarium starting today!

To kick-off Turtle Fest, our team will be giving Oyster, one of SEA LIFE's two Kemp's Ridley sea turtles, her annual physical. In honor of Turtle Fest, SEA LIFE wants to make sure that Oyster is in spectacular health by getting her blood work, weighing and measuring her to see how much she has grown, and checking her eyes and mouth to make sure she can live a long lasting life. 

Turtle Tidbits: Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles are the most endangered species in the world. 

Come into SEA LIFE Minnesota to celebrate Turtle Fest with our terrific turtles. 
Guests can purchase discounted admission tickets to SEA LIFE Minnesota for $9.99 ( regularly $19.99 +tax ) at TurtleFestMinnesota.com. $1.00 will be donated to The Turtle Hospital in Florida for every ticket purchased. Our TURTALLY awesome events will include a turtle quiz trail with turtle-related trivia along with an up close and personal look at a Sea Turtle's annual check up! Look out for more Turtle Tidbits in future posts. 

Underwater Proposal

Today at SEA LIFE we were able to host a very special event for one couple.


Nick and April were visiting the aquarium when one of our divers pulled out a sign asking "Will You Marry Me?" Nick then got down on one knee and pulled out a gorgeous ring to a very excited "YES!" and a kiss.


Intern Anna and I were center stage for the proposal and were able to shoot a video of the event. We did our best not to give away the surprise but we were extremely anxious and excited!

Here at the aquarium we are often the hosts of proposals and even weddings. Back in February of 2006 we even had a couple who tied the knot underwater!

Sea Turtle Gains Weight

As most people try to shed off those last few pounds before the summer swimsuit season, SEA LIFE Minnesota's Giant Green Sea Turtle, Bubbles, hopes to gain weight - or a weight to be exact.

Today, Bubbles is undergoing a procedure to correct her Bubble Butt, a condition causing unwanted air to become trapped under her shell which prevents the turtle from swimming to the surface for air. The procedure involves a very strong epoxy to re-attach a customized weight to Bubbles' shell.

A similar weight was previously attached to Bubbles after she arrived at SEA LIFE Minnesota over a year ago, but last week it was dislodged after a little turtle drama in the tanks. Today's procedure involves an even stronger epoxy which will hopefully prevent it from falling off or becoming lunch for one of Bubbles' fishy friends.

Watch the procedure on our YouTube page: youtube.com/sealifemn

Megalodon

The Carcharodon Megalodon, more commonly called Megalodon, is a species of shark that has been extinct for millions of years. The Megalodon shark was similar to the modern day great white shark, although much larger, weighing almost 100 tons and capable of growing to almost 67 feet in length with teeth as long as 7 inches. The Megalodon is said to have had the strongest bite of any creature that ever lived.

The picture on the right shows the maximum size of the Megalodon represented in gray, the average size of a Megalodon in red, the average Whale Shark in purple (currently the largest shark in existence), the average Great White in Green, and the average human in blue.

Fossils from the Megalodon have been found in oceans around the world ranging from near North America to near Europe to the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. Scientists have yet to figure out what caused the Megalodons to become extinct although there are many theories including a drop in food supply, oceanic temperature change, and new competition.

Take a piece of history home with you. Megalodon tooth fossils are now available in the SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium gift store!