Name The Seahorses
Seahorses on Nantucket? These fascinating sea creatures do live in Nantucket’s waters, and there’s a family of five seahorses at the Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) Aquarium providing visitors of all ages an opportunity to watch them and to learn more about them.
Visitors to the aquarium are invited think of names for the seahorses in the MMA annual naming contest. Now through September 1, the Aquarium will be accepting entries to this contest.
The naming contest is designed to help raise awareness about seahorses, their habitat, and life cycle. “Every year we pick a different animal that is special so that people can learn and have fun at the same,” explained Aquarium Director Rachel Dacks. “This year we chose seahorses because they’re very interesting animals — they’re incredible to watch — and people love to see them in the Aquarium.”
Seahorses come up to Nantucket during the summer — they’re not found here all year long. “We have a lot of ‘summer residents’ here at the Aquarium...tropical species that come up in the summer,” said Dacks.
The Aquarium staff has only these tips for those entering the contest: “Be creative and have fun... You have to see how they behave and how they move around to be able to give them good names.” The animals are fed twice a day at the Aquarium: visitors who stop by around 2:30 pm can watch a feeding.
The competition offers opportunities to select names for each of the five seahorses and/or select a “family” name for the group of seahorses. Persons interested in entering the contest can go to the Aquarium at 28 Washington Street to fill out an entry form. The Aquarium is open from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Winners will be announced at the Aquarium on September 3 and will be awarded a small prize.
Admission to the Aquarium is $5 for adults, $4 for children, and free for members of the MMA. All exhibits at the Aquarium are wheelchair accessible. The Aquarium also sponsors Marine Ecology field trips every Monday – Saturday at 10 a.m. and Beachcombing walks, every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 2 p.m. throughout the summer. To make a reservation for the Aquarium field trips or walks, call the Aquarium at (508) 228-5387.
