Greater Cleveland Aquarium Offering 'Sea-sonal' Fun Days

Press release from Greater Cleveland Aquarium:

Sept. 24, 2020

The Greater Cleveland Aquarium (2000 Sycamore St., Cleveland, OH 44113 I 216.862.8803 I greaterclevelandaquarium.com) is adding new Pumpkins & Piranhas SEA-sonal Fun Days on Thursdays & Fridays, October 22, 23, 29 & 30 from 10am – 7pm (last admission at 6pm). The Halloween celebration includes added evening hours, underwater pumpkin decorations, costumed staffers and divers and pop-up sea-sonally themed enrichment in the Tropical Forest aviary, as well as “I Spy” and not-so spooky animal fact activities and a take-home bag for children containing a pumpkin craft, stickers, a temporary tattoo, a Captain NEO activity book, a treat and coloring contest.

“This year will be different, but we’re excited to still be able to give guests of all ages the opportunity to get in costume—without a coat or an umbrella—and enjoy a warm, indoor and socially distanced Aquarium experience,” says White. “Hauntaquarium is absolutely one of our favorite events and we look forward to its return in future years, but we’re simply unable to execute a large-scale trick-or-treat party at this point in time.”

The Aquarium’s daily Clean Committed protocols will remain in place during Pumpkins & Piranhas, including one-way traffic, additional sanitization stations, timed entry and masks for everyone over the age of 2. The Aquarium asks that guests purchase advance tickets. “We’d hate to disappoint anyone who came out in costume on a sold-out day,” says White. “We’ve dramatically reduced our daily capacity to give you the opportunity to get up-close views of piranhas, moray eels, flashlight fish, poison dart frogs, pufferfish, Surinam toads, sea lampreys and other creepy cool creatures without getting close to other guests.”

Pumpkins & Piranhas SEA-sonal Fun Days are included with regular Aquarium admission ($19.95 ages 13+, $13.95 ages 2-12, under 2 and annual Passholders free). Tickets for Pumpkins & Piranhas go on-sale Monday, October 12, 2020.

The Aquarium will also be posting Pumpkins & Piranhas-themed videos and virtual programming leading up to Halloween including:

Now – Friday, October 30 (free)Aquatic-Themed Pumpkin Carving ContestGrab a pumpkin and get carving. Greater Cleveland Aquarium is looking for the best aquatic-themed jack-o-lantern, so let your imagination go wild—sharks, angelfish, jellyfish, boats, swimmers, lighthouses, SCUBA divers, eels, crabs, sea captains, stingrays, octopuses—there’s an ocean of subject matter possibilities. We want the work to be your own though, so email photos of you carving the pumpkin AND the finished project with a Team Name, Email and Phone no later than Friday, October 30, 2020 @5pm to info@greaterclevelandaquarium.com. (You can also mail them to PUMPKIN CARVING CONTEST, Greater Cleveland Aquarium, 2000 Sycamore Street, Cleveland, OH 44113 postmarked no later than Thursday, October 29, 2020.) One winner will be selected by a panel of judges and announced on November 2, 2020, to receive an original piece of stingray art, virtual congratulations from our SCUBA dive team and the chance to log-in for a virtual Zoom gallery tour. By entering, all participants allow Greater Cleveland Aquarium to post their images on its website, social media and in its e-communications.

Tuesday, October 20 @ 4:30pm (free)

Jellyfish & Jack-O-Lanterns Paint Party Kids are invited to an interactive online paint party led by a certified teacher from Artist at Heart (artistatheart.org)

Wednesday, October 28 @ 6 – 7pm ($15 general, $10 Passholders, age 21+, no more than 4 guests per screen)

Halloween @CLEaquarium Zoom Happy Hour: Fascinating or Frightening Animal Trivia
Did you know sea lamprey use rings of sharp teeth to latch onto unsuspecting prey? That the poison dart frogs at the Aquarium aren’t actually poisonous? That green moray eels get their color from a slimy mucus coating? Or that piranha don’t hunt humans? Test your spooky animal trivia knowledge on this virtual, after-hours tour of the Aquarium that comes with an apple cider margarita drink recipe concocted by Prosperity Social Club (prosperitysocialclub.com) to pair perfectly with a Halloween-themed adventure. (One participating team will be awarded a $25 Prosperity Social Club gift certificate.)

This press release was produced by Greater Cleveland Aquarium. The views expressed here are the author's own.