Aquarium News Archive

Aquarium of the Pacific hosts cleanup after the Fourth of July. Aquarium volunteers, Long Beach Junior Lifeguards, UC Climate Stewards, and Long Beach neighborhood association representatives worked together to collect over 200 pounds of trash at Junipero Beach on July 5.

The Aquarium’s Pride Night, celebrating LGBTQ+ communities, honored Gay for Good’s Orange County and Long Beach chapter for its community service.

The Aquarium’s 23rd annual Pacific Islander Festival celebrated Pacific Ocean cultures; the Aquarium honored Bill and Rose Laolagi with its Heritage Award. Rose Laolagi was awarded posthumously.

Aquarium staff have been aiding affected aquatic bird species along the Los Angeles River helping the Oiled Wildlife Care Network.

The Aquarium’s Blue Whale Gala and Summer Splash raised over $900,000 for animal rescue, conservation, education, and care, drawing 950 guests for special programs and sponsor-supported experiences.

In an exciting discovery during a habitat survey, an Aquarium of the Pacific staff member discovered and helped to identify an endangered white abalone for the first time in five years in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.

Success with spawning pink stars by optimizing the process to preserve their genetics provides a pathway for spawning critically endangered sunflower sea stars.

Ellie the thirty-seven-year-old harbor seal is thriving at the Aquarium. After a successful eye surgery to improve her well-being, she is recovering before returning to her habitat.

Orange Coast College and the Aquarium are offering the hybrid course Ocean Conservation and Community Science in fall 2026, where high school and college students can earn three college credits.

The Aquarium of the Pacific hosted guest speakers to discuss new data and predicted impacts related to Southern California’s warming waters. The press briefing was livestreamed to an audience nationwide. Watch the recording of the briefing and read the press release.

Aquarium’s Teen Climate Fest (Apr 25–26) celebrated Earth Day with activities such as teen-authored book readings, honoring Councilmember Kristina Duggan with the Corinne Monroe Earth Day award, and sharing the news of the update to the Marine Species Report Card

Learn about how the Aquarium is continuing to actively spawn the endangered marine snail, white abalone. Aquarium staff had a successful spawning event this year.

The Aquarium of the Pacific is announcing the winners of its sixth annual High Tide Student Film Festival. The festival, presented by Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg, encourages Southern California high school and college students to explore science and conservation through creative visual storytelling.

The Boeing Company presents a check in support of the Aquarium’s education programs.

You can now see two new sea otters—a rescued female pup named Sunny and an adult female named Rey. Both sea otters were deemed nonreleasable to the wild by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The hope is that when matured both otters will be surrogate mothers, so that more orphaned sea otter pups have a chance to return to the wild.