New England Aquarium

10/14/2026

There’s something bubbling in these containers and…it’s ALIVE!! 🫧🧪👀

Those bright yellows, greens, browns, and oranges might look like a Halloween potion or the changing leaves of fall, but they’re actually live food!

What you’re seeing is plankton that we grow right here at the Aquarium to feed the animals in our care. It’s packed with the high-quality nutrition our fish need, and we even add extra vitamins and minerals.

Growing live food like this also helps us feed our animals more sustainably and reduce the environmental impacts associated with shipping food to the Aquarium. ♻️

Now that’s what we call a nutritious, eco-friendly green smoothie!

10/13/2026

It’s almost that time of year again. 👀

As fall approaches, our Sea Turtle Hospital team is getting ready to welcome another season of cold-stunned sea turtles!

When Cape Cod Bay temperatures drop, sea turtles can become weak and unable to swim. This condition, known as cold-stunning, can leave turtles stranded along our coastline and in need of rescue and rehabilitation. That’s where our partners at Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary come in. As temperatures fall, volunteers comb the beaches in search of cold-stunned sea turtles and bring them to our Sea Turtle Hospital for care.

Our team is already preparing for the 2026–2027 cold-stun season and keeping a close eye on Cape Cod Bay. When temperatures dip into the 50s, we typically begin to see our first sea turtle patients arrive.

Want to follow along? Join us in our stories every Tuesday for as we track the temperature in Cape Cod Bay and get ready for another season of sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation.

10/11/2026

Myrtle the sea turtle is one of the Aquarium’s most famous residents! But how does a 500 lb. sea turtle get a health exam?

Boston.com joined us for one of Myrtle’s four yearly check-ups to see what goes into caring for our queen of the Giant Ocean Tank.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4wzA68E

Take a look behind the scenes as staff at the New England Aquarium conduct annual check ups on their resident sea turtles.

10/10/2026

It’s International African Penguin Awareness Day! 🐧 We’re celebrating by sharing some of our favorite fun facts about these amazing birds.

🐟 What’s on the menu for our African penguins? It’s always fish! The birds in our colony are fed a diet of small schooling fish such as capelin, anchovies, herring, and silversides.

📋 Our Animal Care team keeps a close watch on every meal. By tracking what and how much our penguins eat, we help make sure they stay healthy and thriving!

🫏 Did you know African penguins can bray just like a donkey? Their calls are one of the most unique sounds you’ll hear at the Aquarium!

💚 African penguins are critically endangered primarily due to food scarcity (not catching enough fish for themselves and their chicks in the wild), which is caused by climate change and overfishing. Every visit to the Aquarium helps support their care and conservation. You can also help by sharing what you learn about these amazing birds with your friends!

Want to see our penguins in action? Come watch a live feeding session, happening every day at the Aquarium!

10/09/2026

When late fall and early winter arrive, our Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Team springs into action, caring for hundreds of juvenile cold-stunned sea turtles stranded on Cape Cod.

But there’s a side of their lives our team rarely gets to see: these turtles as adults, returning to their nesting beaches. 💚

Kemp’s ridleys make up the majority of the turtles we rehabilitate. As juveniles, they spend their summers feeding in New England waters. As adults, many females return to beaches along the Gulf of Mexico to nest.

Earlier this year, Sea Turtle Hospital Manager Linda Lory and biologist Charlotte Clark traveled to South Padre Island, Texas, to volunteer with and learn from the team at Sea Turtle Inc. They joined sea turtle patrollers in the field, helped excavate nests, and observed the organization’s rescue and rehabilitation work, which closely mirrors the care provided at our Sea Turtle Hospital in Quincy.

We may never know if any of the turtles our team rescued in New England were among those nesting on these beaches. But seeing this “other side” of the work was a special reminder of where these turtles can go after rescue.

Read more about their trip: https://bit.ly/4h9Rc8I

10/08/2026

To celebrate World Octopus Day, we’re sharing eight fun facts about our eight-armed friends, the giant Pacific octopus! 🐙

📏 Giant Pacific octopuses are the world's largest octopus and can reach up to 20 ft. from arm tip to arm tip and weigh up to 150 lb.!

🧠 They’re incredibly smart! At the Aquarium, our octopuses stay mentally stimulated with fun puzzle enrichment boxes.

🏋️‍♀️ They can move more than 700 lb. using their eight arms. Now that’s some serious muscle!

😶‍🌫️ They’re camouflage masters! Thanks to special skin cells called chromatophores, they can change their color and texture in a flash.

🦀 Fish, shrimp, crabs, scallops, clams, and all sorts of tasty shellfish are some of their favorite foods.

🎂 Unfortunately, they don’t stick around for long. Giant Pacific octopuses typically live just three to five years.

🌎 You’ll find giant Pacific octopuses in the chilly, temperate waters of the Northern Pacific Ocean, from Alaska down to California.

🌊 We can help them thrive! Protecting their ocean home through underwater reserves and Marine Protected Areas, like the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, helps ensure these animals will continue to thrive.

Happy World Octopus Day! 🐙

10/07/2026

It’s Customer Service Appreciation Week, and we can’t thank our front-facing teams enough for playing such a vital role in making your Aquarium visits special and memorable. 💙

A huge thank you to our customer service teams for all that they do! These staff members bring their passion every day, sharing their marine science knowledge and expertise, creating dynamic events and special occasions, and providing exceptional service to our visitors.

Thank you for helping make every Aquarium visit a great one!

10/05/2026

Meet the scientist who has been studying critically endangered North Atlantic right whales for over 40 years! 🐳

Philip Hamilton is a senior scientist at the Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life. He and his team have spent decades tracking North Atlantic right whales, building a photo catalog to help us learn more about this critically endangered species.

In a conversation with NBC5 In Depth, Philip shared some of the big challenges these whales face, like fishing gear entanglements, boat strikes, and the rapidly warming waters in the Gulf of Maine—an important feeding ground.

Check out the full conversation with Philip here: https://bit.ly/4fQHmb0

Philip Hamilton of Putney appeared on NBC5 In Depth to discuss his decades of work studying critically endangered North Atlantic right whales

10/04/2026

Peek into the harbor with us and discover a world full of surprises! 🌊

Our New England Harbors exhibit introduces you to some of the amazing local species that live right here in our own backyard and highlights innovative, eco-friendly designs helping shape the future of our harbors.

From North America’s first Living Seawalls to bright anemones, deep-sea scallops, and so much more, the exhibit explores how we share these spaces with our ocean neighbors—and how cities like Boston are finding creative ways to protect marine life while keeping our harbors strong.

More:

Get a look inside the 1,000-gallon exhibit spotlighting local species and eco-friendly designs reshaping our harbors.

10/03/2026

Membership makes the Aquarium yours to explore all year long! ✨

Other membership perks include:

⏰ Member mornings and evenings
🎃 Special member events, like Boo-quarium and Fin & Tonic
🍽️ Discounts on dining and shopping, and more!

Don't miss these exclusive experiences—become a member today and enjoy special events all year long!

Become a member: https://bit.ly/4y0IY89