Today the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center opened a new area in the Marsh Pavilion aptly named the Children’s Corner. This area was designed to engage children age 6 and under with interactive and creative play opportunities. The brightly colored room features blocks, puzzles, hopscotch, and other age-appropriate activities that enhance the Aquarium experience for younger guests.   The Children’s Corner is located in what was formerly the MicroMarsh exhibit.  When this exhibit space needed to be refurbished, Aquarium staff decided to create a space devoted to early learners. This decision was based on experience with this audience: • Recent surveys reveal that 48% of Aquarium guests visit with at least one child under the age of 12.
• Some of the Aquarium’s most popular changing exhibits, Grossology, Animal Grossology, and Little Builders, successfully targeted this age group
• Aquarium members frequently ask for more activities for their pre-school children.   Director of Education Chris Witherspoon said, “This new exhibit also reinforces the Aquarium’s commitment to providing educational enrichment opportunities to early learners, as this is one key to building school readiness skills.” Additionally, the Aquarium has one staff member, the early learning coordinator, who develops programs such as Toddler Tuesdays and Early Explorations for this age group and serves on the City’s GrowSmart team. The Aquarium also partners with Virginia Beach Public Libraries for Waves, Words, & Wonder, a grant-funded enrichment program for 4-year-olds and their families.
The exhibit was funded by the Aquarium Connection. This is a group of young professionals and community leaders who support the Virginia Aquarium Foundation’s goals of increasing awareness of the Aquarium’s mission and developing financial resources for exhibits, the stranding response program, educational programs, and special projects.
###  

Please click for the full news release which entails:

• Normal operating hours
• Internationa Vulture Awareness Day
• Volunteer Open House
• Comotion in the Ocean
• Monster Madness
• Boat Trips
• Behind the Scenes Tours
• IMAX movies
• Discovery Days
• Bonus Experiences
• Just for Toddlers

Recent reports from the Virginia Aquarium Dolphin Watching Boat Trip staff and guests reveal that the beloved, seasonal Atlantic bottlenose dolphins are providing quite a show. The boats depart several times daily, weather permitting, from the Virginia Beach Fishing Center at Rudee Inlet. Guests enjoy a 90-minute ride along the Virginia Beach coast.   Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center staffer Alexis Rabon who has been educating boat guests for four seasons says that even she has been impressed with the dolphin sightings this past week. “Just yesterday, we saw an estimated 70 dolphins and the sightings were nearly constant throughout the entire hour and a half,” Rabon said. “There was a lot of activity! We saw them riding along with the boat at the wake and the bow, breaching, and slapping their tails. Many of the dolphins were juveniles.”  
The Aquarium Dolphin Watching Boat Trips, which now run daily, are available beyond Labor Day through October 8. Boat schedules are available on the Aquarium’s website: www.VirginiaAquarium.com or by calling 757 385-FISH. Tickets are sold at the Virginia Beach Fishing Center at Rudee Inlet (200 Winston Salem Ave.) prior to departure. The cost is $21 per adult (ages 12 and up) and $15 per child (4 -11 years old). Discount ticket vouchers can be purchased with Aquarium admission. The vouchers must be traded for tickets at least 30 minutes prior to boat departure. Vouchers are $18 per adult and $13 per child. # # #