Celebrate exploration of the sea and the stars at Heal the Bay's Santa Monica Pier Aquarium on July 14 during NASA's flyby of the dwarf planet Pluto and its largest moon, Charon. Beginning at 3 p.m., the Aquarium will remotely broadcast a live conversation with an educator at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena as NASA's probe, New Horizons, makes its closest pass ever at Pluto.
New Horizons — the fastest spacecraft ever launched — will attempt to take detailed measurements and record images and other data using techniques comparable to those used to explore the deep sea. The Aquarium will continue the Deep Space/Deep Sea connection through presentations, arts and crafts projects and activities July 18-19.
The Santa Monica Pier Aquarium is located at 1600 Ocean Front Walk (beach level, beneath the Carousel building), Santa Monica. Hours: Tuesday - Friday: 2 - 6 p.m.; weekends: 12:30 - 6 p.m. Children 12 and under: free when accompanied by a paying adult; all others: $5 per person. Groups of 10 or more: $3 per person, regardless of age.
The Santa Monica Pier Aquarium is Heal the Bay's marine education facility. The aquarium is open to the general public and attracts more than 85,000 visitors per year. Since Heal the Bay acquired the Aquarium in 2003 from UCLA, more than half a million visitors have been welcomed during public hours and nearly 140,000 students have been educated during in-house education programs.
For more information, visit www.healthebay.org/santa-monica-pier-aquarium/education.
