Friday, April 20, 2018

Save the Harbor at the Boston Children's Museum: April Vacation Week Part 3

On Friday, April 20, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay's staff, interns, and junior program assistants (JPAs) brought the wonders of Boston Harbor to the Boston Children's Museum! With the help of Tony the Pirate, Francesca the lobster, and Ronaldo the rock crab, we were able to successfully share the harbor with over 200 visitors.

Up close and personal with Boston Harbor!

Explorers started off the day listening to Tony the Pirate's stories of the ocean blue. He told the families about "Little Eyes" the magical crab, who could detach his eye stalks and send them out into the ocean to see all sorts of marine animals. He captivated the kids with the chant "Little eyes, little eyes, sail out into the deep blue sea!"

Listeners were enthralled by Tony the Pirate

Save the Harbor programming also included a touch tank, which featured Francesca, the American lobster, and Ronaldo, the rock crab. A second touch tank was full of green crabs trapped off Atlantic Wharf's pier. The kids were delighted to touch and hold these critters, and learned how to tell female and male crabs and lobsters apart, how lobsters communicate with each other (spoiler: they pee on each other to communicate!), and what these animals use their claws for. Kids even learned about the green crab's status as an invasive species: one that isn't native to the harbor, but is quickly populating the waters and harming its balance. Vice President of Operations, Chris Mancini, told kids "one of the best ways to help deal with invasive species is to eat invasive species!" The kids learned many other ways to prevent the spread of invasive species while conserving native species.

Don't get pinched!
The day went swimmingly, and many visitors left with the harbor in their hearts. We even had a special visit from Alice from Wonderland and the Queen of Hearts who fell in love with our touch tank critters as well!

More like Alice in Lobsterland.
A very big thank you to our friends at the Boston Children's Museum for helping us continue the tradition of excellent summer programming.

Thanks also to James Hook & Co. for lending us Francesca and Ronaldo for the morning!

 For more information on our Youth Programs and other similar events, visit savetheharbor.org and check out our blog - blog.savetheharbor.org

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