Press Releases

NORWALK, CT  –  Cruise out onto Long Island Sound this summer with The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk to learn about the marine environment and to enjoy gorgeous sights and colorful sunsets. While the Aquarium’s signature Marine Life Encounter Cruises currently are suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic, a fun mix of daytime and evening cruises still are available aboard the Aquarium’s R/V Spirit of the Sound, the first research vessel in the country with... Read More

NORWALK, CT  –  Meet amazing animals with the natural ability to glow in the dark in “Living Lights,” a special exhibit open now in The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk. “Living Lights” introduces guests to some of the most strangely interesting creatures in the sea: animals that can give off light through a process called bioluminescence. Live animals displayed include flashlight fish, pinecone fish, chain catsharks, crystal jellyfish and more. ... Read More

NORWALK, CT  –  After a three-month closure, The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk will reopen to the public on Sat., June 20 with online ticketing for timed entry and other special guidelines for guest and staff well-being. In aligning with the state’s phased approach and federal and state public-health directives, The Maritime Aquarium will limit guest capacity, require masks to be worn at all times, sell tickets only online with timed entries, provide one-way flow through... Read More

NORWALK, CT –  The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is one of 17 aquariums in the U.S. – and the only one in New England – tending to live corals rescued from Florida in an unprecedented effort to save North America’s largest bank reef. Thirty-five corals, representing 13 different species, arrived at The Maritime Aquarium last month from the Florida Reef Tract, a 360-mile bank reef that extends from Port Saint Lucie down to the Florida Keys. In... Read More

NORWALK, CT  –  The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk has begun construction of a 4D movie theater and a large new seal exhibit, part of the popular attraction’s advance response to the rebuilding of an adjacent railroad bridge.  On Nov. 11, the Aquarium’s five harbor seals moved into a home-away-from-home – on view to guests in the former “Go Fish!” exhibit – so construction could begin on a 150,000-gallon, two-story habitat on the site of... Read More

NORWALK, CT  –  Federal, state and local officials ceremonially broke ground at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk Nov. 18 on a new seal exhibit and 4D movie theater, part of the popular attraction’s advance response to the rebuilding of an adjacent railroad bridge.  Funded with state and federal dollars through a $40 million “functional replacement” agreement, the simultaneous projects are expected to be completed in a year and... Read More

NORWALK, CT  –  The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is inviting guests to follow along as it seeks insights into horseshoe crabs, a favored marine creature whose mystique and environmental importance make up for what it rather lacks in charm.  The Maritime Aquarium recently opened its new “Horseshoe Crab Culture Lab,” where staff will investigate the creatures’ physical processes, food preferences, breeding behaviors and more. A lab window lets Aquarium... Read More

NORWALK, CT  –  Jason Patlis, the executive director of Marine Conservation Programs for the Wildlife Conservation Society and a former president of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, will be the new president and CEO of The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk. Patlis brings to Norwalk a 27-year career of executive management and public policy in ocean and natural-resource conservation on a national and international scale. His experience combines science literacy and... Read More

NORWALK, CT  –  The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk’s interpretive training program for volunteers and its county-wide effort to support guests with special needs are being celebrated as two of the top initiatives of any zoo and aquarium in America. The Maritime Aquarium’s “Conversation 2 Conservation” training program and its “Accessibility for All” effort were among the top honorees this week during the 2019 national... Read More

NORWALK,  CT  –  The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is joining the nation’s top academic institutions, nonprofits, foundations and government agencies as Connecticut’s only representative in a partnership to provide urgently needed STEM training and support to teachers. 100Kin10, a national organization dedicated to solving the STEM teacher shortage by 2021, announced on Sept. 5 that The Maritime Aquarium will join 40 other new programmatic partners in its... Read More