A drop. A ripple. A wave. Each possess energy singularly and together to affect change. Water Logged chronicles an open conversation between the community (you) and the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher-from conservation to inspiration. So let it flow.
Need something to do with the kids on the MLK holiday? Give them an up close look at reptiles and animals including, turtles, salamanders, and alligators at the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher. Campers will learn about the similarities and differences between these two types of animals. Live animal presentations and more are all part of this exciting program. Come and join the fun! Snacks are provided. Kids will need to bring a bag lunch. $40.00 per participant.PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED. Call 910-458-7468 Monday – Friday, 9 am – 5pm.
New Hanover County residents can resolve to start the New Year in a greener way by putting their holiday greenery to good use. Christmas tree recycling is a good way to reuse those firs and helps spruce up our local landscape. Please recycle your Christmas trees at these locations:
• Smith Creek Park – off Gordon Road
• Landfill – 5210 US Hwy 421 North
• Diversified Biomass – on Sunnyvale Drive
• Myrtle Grove Middle School – 901 Piner Road
Trees can be taken to these locations from December 26th through January 31st. Please remove all decorations and lights. Trees will be ground into mulch for landscaping material or boiler fuel All used wrapping paper and cardboard boxes can be recycled at the following locations:
• Market Street beside Blair Elementary School
• Monkey Junction at Moose Lodge 353 on Carolina Beach Road
• Murrayville at Lowes Foods
• Veteran’s Park behind Murray Middle School
• Castle Hayne beside Hardee’s
• County Landfill on Hwy 421
Residents with curbside recycling can place their paper in their recycling bins.
While the idea of "green" vacations has attracted recent attention, most information focuses on what to do when you get to your destination, not on how to get there. No definitive source has been available to guide travelers toward the transportation option—train, plane, automobile, or motor coach (a.k.a. bus)—that will produce the least global warming pollution during a particular vacation. Until now.
In Getting There Greener, the Union of Concerned Scientists presents the first comprehensive analysis—peer-reviewed by experts—of the highest-carbon and lowest-carbon options for vacation travel.
This analysis shows that three key factors determine the environmental impact of your travel:
the type of vehicle you are taking;
the distance you are traveling; and
the number of people traveling with you.
Based on these factors, this guide can tell you how environmentally sound (or perhaps unsound) your travel plans are.
Tired of shaking a Christmas present to hear what’s inside, only to find another ugly sweater? Well, long gone are the days of Christmas presents that will stay in the back of the closet for the whole year. This year give your family and friends a gift that they will be talking about for years to come.
What better gift than that of experience? The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher offers many different programs that are unique and educational. This season we are offering gift certificates to many of our different special activity programs including: Aquarist Apprentice, Behind the Scenes Tours, Mommy and Me, Children’s Discovery Time and many more. Get a sneak peak at what goes on behind the scenes, assist in some of our aquarists daily routines, or bring your children for a tale-telling, critter-creating adventure.
Call the registrar at 910-458-7468 or e-mail at ncaff.registrar@ncmail.net to purchase your gift certificate today. Gift certificates to Summer Camp 2009 are also available, reserve space for your child early!
To thank the community for all its support in 2008, the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher is giving you a gift.Visit the Aquarium for our special holiday weekend on December 13 and 14 at the child’s rate...all adults admitted for only $6 each!
Scuba Santa will make an appearance in the Big Tank at 10:30 am and 2:30 pm each day. Kids of all ages can enjoy a special puppet show entitled, “Polar Opposites,” and make crafty ornaments in the Aquarium’s classrooms. What holiday would be complete without Dr. Seuss’ animated timeless tale of the mean-spirited Grinch? Stick around to watch the original feature “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” on the big screen, and take advantage of commemorative photo specials with Santa himself.
Schedule for Saturday, Dec. 14 & Sunday, Dec. 15
10am, 12:30 pm and 3:30pm: "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"
10:30 am and 2:30 pm: "Scuba Santa" in Big Tank
11:30 am and 1:30 pm: "Polar Opposites" puppet show
All Day: Santa Photos , Holiday crafts and ornaments and candy guessing game
By reducing waste and “going green,” you may be able to save some green in the process. Studies show holiday preparations, including gift-giving, holiday decorations and food preparation, increase the nation’s trash by an extra one million tons per week during the five weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.
Some environmentally-friendly and cost-saving ideas include:
Give home-baked goodies in reusable containers like baskets, tins or jars.
Give non-materialistic “green” gifts that do not require wrapping, such as gift certificates for massages, to restaurants, cooking classes, sailing lessons, etc.
Give a gift of time or talent. Take someone to a play, concert or movie. Make gift certificates for a special dinner, pet-sitting or house cleaning. Offer your talents at gardening, photography or financial planning — or better yet, teach someone a skill you possess such as knitting, woodworking or playing an instrument.
Send holiday e-cards instead of paper greeting cards or make sure the ones you buy have recycled content material.
When shipping, reuse foam peanuts or other packaging materials.
If you have several events or parties in a short amount of time, buy food items in bulk. You will save a trip to the grocery and use less packaging.
Shop at thrift stores for unique gift items or holiday decorations.
Save all gift-wrapping and decorations to reuse later or wrap gifts in old maps, posters, sheet music, fabric or wallpaper scraps.
Other environmentally-friendly ideas include:
Give a compost bin, can crusher, water timer, programmable thermostat, rain barrel, house plant, bird feeder, light timers or bat house.
Use reusable grocery and shopping bags and make sure to recycle the non-reusable ones.
Try not to use disposable plates, cups, napkins and silverware. If you do buy disposable products look for ones with recycled content.
If a tree is part of your celebration, buy one that can be replanted in your yard. If you can’t replant your tree, compost it after the holidays.
The N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher has been celebrating our slimy friends all year, and you only have one more chance, on December 4, to join us for the final Frogs on the 4’s. Frogs on the 4’s was designed to support the Association of Zoos and Aquarium’s 2008 Year of the Frog initiative by providing one day each month specifically focused on amphibians.All programs, films, activities, feedings and crafts are themed towards our slimy stars.
Two interactive auditorium programs will be presented, a Creature Featureat 11:30 am and a Wetland Odyssey at 1:30 pm, For the final Frogs on the 4s, the Aquarium has created a new program, Slime vs. Scales, where an educator leads a debate between two costumed characters, a frog and a snake, about whose adaptations make them the coolest animal in the swamp.In Swamp Symphony, the audience helps create a suitable habitat for these awesome amphibians and meet a few live critters while having a stomping, clapping good time.
Four films will be offered focused on amphibian or their habitats. Frogs, Fact or Folklore? discusses the reputation and myths surrounding amphibians, Spring Forth and Multiply! goes into detail about vernal ponds necessary to the amazing life cycle of our native frogs and toads, while Eyewitness Amphibians and Eyewitness Pond give the viewer an inside look at these animals and their habitats.
An amphibian classroom will be filled with lily pad magnet crafts, coloring, games and prizes. Enjoy frog sounds, games, and a wonderful reading nook complete with a huge “froggie” pillow to sit and explore a book!A froggie hat clad greeter will welcome you upon arrival and explain the schedule as well as a building-wide scavenger hunt. Visitors can spend time finding the amphibian exhibits, programs, and extras then return their hunt for a prize.
One of the most popular Frogs on the 4’s additions is our Tadpole Table.At this temporary exhibit, we take a look at the amazing life cycle of a frog then recreate a pond complete with all the stages that everyone can take home with them.And last but not least, our costumed character, Froggie the Fabulous, will make appearances to delight visitors throughout the day.
