Join SEA LIFE for a day of Celebration on Saturday, January 16th

SEA LIFE™ Celebrates 2nd Annual Underwater Parks Day with Family Friendly Festival Aquarium Offers Fun, Educational Activities for Families with Young Children SEA LIFE™ Aquarium celebrates the second annual Underwater Parks Day January 16, 2010, with kid-friendly activities designed to raise awareness of soon-to-be designated “underwater parks” or Marine Protected Areas. Guest will have a chance to create a personalized take-home habitat, add to the Happy Habitat Mural and visit a Kids’ Conservation Expo with hands-on exhibits to learn how their family can get involved in caring for our ocean locally. In celebration of Underwater Parks Day, SEA LIFE Aquarium is also offering an online coupon for free admission for two children with each paid adult.

Underwater Parks Day is an effort by Southern California aquariums and marine science centers to educate Southern Californians about Underwater Parks and to communicate that marine protected areas are a critical tool in replenishing the fish populations and restoring the health of our coastal waters.

Local ocean conservation organizations including Batiquitos Lagoon Foundation, Coastkeeper, I Love A Clean San Diego, Ocean Discovery Institute, San Diego Oceans Foundation and San Elijo State Beach will be taking part in the Underwater Parks Day event at SEA LIFE Aquarium, hosting information booths and other activities for families throughout the day.

Renowned local artist Teresa Espaniola, who is known for painting seascapes as well as for her unique works using found objects and beach trash, will be leading the Happy Habitat Mural project. With Espanola’s help, children will add their own sea creatures to a large ocean mural in the Discovery Zone, demonstrating what a healthy, happy underwater habitat should look like.

Espaniola was born in California. Since childhood, she has enjoyed crafting, painting and exhibiting her work in art shows. The ocean has always been a love in her life, from tide pooling in California to living in Hawaii, immersing herself in surfing and diving and meeting many ocean dwellers face to face. Having experienced the best of the ocean, she now brings awareness about the worst of it through her art and working with children. Nine of Espanola’s “gARTbage” works, using local beach trash to create beautiful art, will be on display during the event.

Other Aquariums hosting Underwater Parks Day events include Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro, Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, Ocean Institute in Dana Point, Birch Aquarium at Scripps in La Jolla, Santa Monica Pier Aquarium and Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History’s Ty Warner Sea Center, but SEA LIFE is the only one whose activities are focused on families with young children.