Providing Home to Rescued Sea Otter Pups

We served as a temporary home to eight sea otter pups during 2022. While providing these rescued and unreleasable pups needed care, the Aquarium’s adult sea otters and staff learned important skills that will help them participate in the Monterey Bay Aquarium Sea Otter Surrogacy program, which aims to restore otters to the California coast. Our efforts in the surrogacy program were made possible by the support of Robert and Kathleen Henderson among other donors who gave $1.4 million in 2022.

Restoring Coral Reefs in the Pacific

In May the Aquarium’s Curator of Fish and Invertebrates Nate Jaros traveled to Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands to participate in a coral restoration project with SECORE International and Johnston Applied Marine Sciences (JAMS). Jaros helped collect egg and sperm bundles released by the spawning coral that will be grown in a floating lab and outplanted to increase the coral population.

Rolling into Long Beach Schools

In response to teacher requests for flexible and engaging enhancements to science curriculum for all ages, the education team launched the Mobile Ocean Classroom (MOC) in spring of 2022. With the MOC, Aquarium educators travel to schools to deliver an ocean-themed program that aligns with science-standards for grades K-8. Thanks to our donors supporting STEM education within our community, MOC engages students with hands-on activities at no cost to schools, students, or teachers. Donors like Honda USA Foundation, Windsong Trust, The Boeing Company, Edison International, Dorrance Family Foundation, the Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation, and the Appleby Foundation made it possible for our educators to teach upwards of 100 programs to 3,800 students.

“Having the Aquarium at Dooley gave the students a special privilege and motivation to come to Saturday school. They were amazed that the Aquarium could travel and make it to our school. It gave them more insight about what is in the ocean and why to protect the environment.”

— Sylvia Cortes-Sagrera, Third Grade Teacher, Dooley Elementary in Long Beach

Supporting the Idea that “It’s Never Too Soon” to Fall in Love with Ocean Science

To empower educators in our community to integrate ocean science concepts into their lessons, the Aquarium provided professional development workshops to 34 local early childhood educators from schools throughout Long Beach. To further engage those teachers and their communities, we offered free Family Science Nights exclusive to this audience, with support from the Long Beach Mayor’s Fund for Education, The Miller Foundation and the Fluor Foundation. The evenings, which welcomed more than 1,500 visitors, featured science and art stations hosted by Aquarium staff, an “Ask a Scientist” booth hosted by one of our African American scholars, as well as a scavenger hunt for families to explore the Aquarium together.

Ensuring Local Learners Experience Ocean Science

With support of grant funding, the Aquarium has partnered with a group of informal science educators through The LA STEM Collective to serve the Los Angeles Unified School District with virtual programs with the mission for all learners to become creative, critical thinkers, and doers. This collaboration provided critical resources for students across our local, yet large, district as well as an opportunity to build invaluable relationships with teachers and administrators. In total, the Aquarium reached nearly 10,000 learners online and in-person.

Hosting First Community College Course

The Aquarium partnered with Orange Coast College to offer a college-level, semester-long course, Ocean Conservation and Community Science, for high school and college students. Dr. Kareiva, along with Aquarium staff members, led the course instruction and stated, “There is no better place to learn about marine conservation and marine wildlife than an aquarium. I am hoping this is the beginning of an expanding partnership with local colleges and universities, whereby we collaborate to provide hands-on engaged learning and recruit students to our course who might otherwise never consider science careers. In this case, we have the added bonus that local students will hear from Aquarium staff members who do conservation.”

VolunTEEN Program Returns

In spring 2022, the VolunTEEN program returned to the Aquarium with a new focus on conservation engagement. More than 140 teens aged 14-16 engaged Aquarium guests at six reimagined stations featuring biofacts like abalone shells and activities focused on endangered species conservation and plastic pollution.

Ocean Neighbors Engaging Communities Throughout Southern California

Ocean Neighbors teens researched and created their own yard signs educating their neighborhoods about ocean science species and habitats connected to the Aquarium. This program allowed teens to connect with peers who have shared interests, overcome transportation barriers, and learn more about volunteering in their communities. Teens from 61 different zip codes in Southern California educated their neighborhoods on ocean animals.

Teen Climate Council Hosts Inaugural Teen Climate Fest

In 2022 the Teen Climate Council (TCC) hosted the first Teen Climate Fest celebrating sustainable career pathways. This free event for teens by teens featured a panel of conservation professionals, career pathway exploration, and booths from local sustainable organizations. TCC volunteers also helped build community engagement through habitat restoration and sustainable craft activities.

Teen Science Café Hosts Antarctic Scientists

Teen Science Café volunteers launched an Antarctic Women in Science speaker series for teens. This National Science Foundation-funded project featured four monthly talks and will continue in spring 2023 with five more Antarctic scientists.

View Past Talks

High Tide Student Film Festival Returns

The Aquarium hosted the second annual High Tide Student Film Festival presented by Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg. The categories were ocean innovation, lost treasures, and coral reefs. The festival featured the creative works of students from ninth to twelfth grade. Each entry focused on exploring science and conservation through creative visual storytelling.

“Art brings science to life and inspires us,” Dr. Kareiva said. “This is the vision that Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg had when they first imagined this amazing high school student film festival. The students not only learn a lot of science, they also discover their own power and the possibility of changing the world.”

The Aquarium Celebrates Earth Day by Restoring Local Habitats

In partnership with the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority and Tidal Influence, 170 Aquarium volunteers donated 425 hours of service to launch festivities for the AZA’s Party for the Planet. Volunteers restored habitat that supports the endangered Belding’s savannah sparrow and least tern by planting 130 plants and removing 1,000 pounds of non-native species.

Community Science Volunteers Monitor Local Biodiversity

In honor of World Ocean Day, Aquarium volunteers hosted a Bioblitz through the iNaturalist platform in the Pelican Cove Marine Protected Area. Twenty-eight people observed and identified 59 species through 141 recorded observations in partnership with Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and USC SeaGrant. Bioblitz events connect people with nature and generate useful data for conservation research.

Corporate Supporters Participate in California Coastal Clean-up Day

In September a record 300 participants removed more than 700 pounds of debris from a local beach as part of the greater California Coastal Clean-up Day. This volunteer opportunity engaged the Aquarium’s corporate supporters and gave their employees, families, and friends the opportunity to protect our beaches and ocean.

Welcoming People of All Abilities to Explore the Pacific Ocean

The Aquarium received certification from KultureCity as an organization that has created a more sensory inclusive environment. For guests who have a sensory need or invisible disability, the Aquarium has sensory bags and designated quiet areas and headphone zones.

Paid Interns Gain Career Exposure in Numerous Fields

Internships provide valuable insight and training for college and high school students to understand how their interests can blossom into fulfilling careers. Historically the practice of unpaid internships created barriers to qualified candidates who were unable to work without financial compensation. To remove this barrier and diversify our workforce to better reflect the demographics of the community we serve, the Aquarium partnered with local organizations to host 20 paid interns across five departments. Interns from California State University, Long Beach (CSULB); University of California, Los Angeles; University of Southern California; Loyola Marymount University; and Lakewood High School put their skills to the test in real-world environments and collectively worked 3,000 hours. Interns assessed conservation efforts, contributed to published scientific papers, coordinated events, and supported many more Aquarium initiatives, while gaining valuable experience and mentorship to shape their future careers.

Pictured: Isabela Alameda is a junior at the University of Southern California majoring in environmental science and Spanish with a minor in computer programming. She worked with the Aquarium of the Pacific as part of a paid internship focused on researching the social implications and potential future of aquaculture.

Membership and Ticket Programs Provides Access for People with Income Barriers

In 2022 the Aquarium expanded its access program to offer low-cost admission and memberships to families and individuals unable to visit and experience the Aquarium due to income barriers. These offerings were in partnership with community service programs, including Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), United Way, Healthy Active Long Beach, Los Angeles Department of Public Social Services, and others. In 2022 nearly 1,700 members and more than 7,000 guests were able to experience the wonder of the Aquarium and our ocean.