Let North Carolina Aquarium Teach Your Children How To Be A Pirate

Friendly buccaneers pull into port at the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores for a pirate-themed Family Night on Thursday, July 17.

The Aquarium extends its hours until 9 p.m. for the special event. Beginning at 5 p.m., pirates invade the Aquarium for an evening of sword fighting, treasure hunts and tales from the high seas:

* Shiver your timbers with the swift swordplay of the Raleigh-based Shadow Players Stage Combat Group.
* Follow clues to a horde of chocolate doubloons in an Aquarium treasure hunt.
* Join the Aquarium’s divers as they search the Living Shipwreck for sunken pirate treasure in the “Davy Jones’ Locker Dive Show.” The divers will rely on the audience to help them find the hidden riches.
* Meet the cousin of the crocodile that evades Captain Hook in an “Alligator Creature Feature.”
* Practice pirate lingo and don an eye-patch in the “Life as a Pirate” Discovery Classroom.
* Learn about the aquatic creatures that live around the wreckage of the Queen Anne’s Revenge in a live animal feeding.

Family Nights are offered each Thursday night in July. On Thursday, July 24, celebrate North Carolina’s culture and nature in a “Banjos to Beach Music” evening. And, on Thursday, July 31, go wild with “Glow Wild!” Family Night and learn about nature’s nightlights.

All Family Night activities are free with membership or admission -- $8 for adults, $7 for ages 62 and up and $6 for children 6-17. Children 5 and under, registered North Carolina school groups and members of the North Carolina Aquariums are admitted free. An annual family membership is $50 and an individual membership is $30.

Daytime visitors may return for Family Night activities the same evening at no charge by presenting their receipts. Ticket sales end at 8 p.m. The Aquarium is five miles west of Atlantic Beach, at Mile Marker 7. Regular hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Call 252-247-4003 or visit www.ncaquariums.com for more information.