There are many reasons to love the B.C. coast and Vancouver Aquarium®, an Ocean Wise® initiative, is sharing its love by inviting locals to celebrate life on the coast with a 15 per cent discount on pre-purchased online admission tickets until May 16. Your online ticket also qualifies for fast-track entry into the Aquarium.
Interested in what happens behind-the-scenes at the Aquarium? Starting this week, the Aquarium is hosting a city-wide scavenger hunt for an opportunity to participate in personal animal encounter experiences. Each week for four weeks, clues on the Aquarium’s social channels (@vanaqua) will point to the secret location of that week’s hidden envelope. The first person to post a photo with the envelope to Instagram or Twitter and tag @vanaqua will win an encounter!
Between April 18 and May 16, the Aquarium will be giving away a total of four special animal encounter experiences as prizes and Vancouverites (ages eight and older) are encouraged to seek out the envelopes hidden around the city.
“We’re fortunate in British Columbia as we don’t need to look far to feel inspired about our underwater world. This spring, we’re inviting visitors to explore our Pacific coast exhibits to get an up-close glimpse at the unique and beautiful creatures that live below the surface in our own backyard,” said Karen Howe, director of visitor experience at Vancouver Aquarium, an Ocean Wise initiative. “People from the Lower Mainland and all over B.C. support us and are considered part of the Aquarium family and we want to recognize that. This limited-time offer for B.C. residents is our way of celebrating our local community and making life on our coast just a little bit sweeter.”
As part of the coastal celebration, there will be special programs for visitors including feedings of the giant Pacific octopus and lingcod. The octopus will feast on sustainable sea critters – squid and fish are on the menu – as guests learn about how these thoughtful hunters seek out their prey. Lingcod, on the other hand, can get right to the chase and are known for their lively feeding sessions as they jostle one another to get the first bite.
The live feedings will be in addition to programming and talks that highlight some of the other stars of the B.C. coast, including feature interpretive sessions on sea otters, Steller sea lions and B.C. Waters talks and dives at the two-storey Strait of Georgia. On weekends, visitors can get hands-on with local intertidal critters, like anemones, sea stars and crabs, in the Wet Lab. Check the daily schedule program times.
Purchase your online ticket to visit Vancouver Aquarium with a 15 per cent discount at www.vanaqua.org/tickets. The discount will be applied to pre-purchased online tickets for B.C. residents for visits between April 18 and May 16. For more information and full contest details, visit http://www.vanaqua.org/celebrateourcoast.
Vancouver Aquarium
Vancouver Aquarium, an Ocean Wise initiative, is one of the world’s leading accredited aquariums, dedicated to the conservation of aquatic life. www.vanaqua.org
Social Media: @VanAqua | #VanAqua
