Honda's Earth Month Celebration at Santa Monica Pier Aquarium

By Randi Parent

Santa Monica, CA - Heal the Bay’s Santa Monica Pier Aquarium is celebrating Earth Month during a weekend-long festival April 16th and 17th, with presentations and activities for all ages, and an offer of free admission to everyone who first cleans the beach.

The marine education center at 1600 Ocean Front Walk, beach level at the Santa Monica Pier, will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. both days for its Earth Month festivities. Beach cleanups will be ongoing both days between 11:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Meet in front of the Aquarium to receive supplies and a safety talk prior to cleaning the beach. All participants must sign a waiver; forms are available at Heal the Bay’s website and will be available at the Aquarium.

Heal the Bay's Earth Day events, including the Aquarium's weekend celebration, are sponsored by the SoCal Honda Dealers. The Helpful Guys in Blue will be handing out reusable water bottles at each of our events and a donation will be made to Heal the Bay on each recipient’s behalf.

Inside the Aquarium, face painting, story times, scavenger hunts and crafts projects for children as well as displays, films, presentations and activities focusing on shark conservation give all visitors opportunities for further education and involvement. Learn about ocean pollution by attending a “Who Pollutes?” presentation, held both days at 2:00 and 4:30 p.m.

Visitors can also check out marine life off the west end of the Pier at a wildlife observation station, equipped with binoculars and field guides, and staffed by Aquarium naturalists.

Visit http://www.healthebay.org/smpa or call 310-393-6149 for more information.

Admission is free for children under 13 when accompanied by an adult; for all others admission is $3, with a suggested $5 donation. Groups of 10 or more are $2 per person. But remember, all who clean the beach come in for free to celebrate Earth Weekend.

About the SMPA
The Santa Monica Pier Aquarium is Heal the Bay’s marine education facility located beach-level, just below the Carousel, at the Santa Monica Pier. The Aquarium is open to the general public http://www.healthebay.org/smpa/visitor/hoursfees.asp and attracts more than 85,000 visitors per year. Since Heal the Bay acquired the Aquarium in 2003 from UCLA, more than 300,000 visitors have been welcomed during public hours and approximately 80,000 students have been educated during in-house education programs. http://www.healthebay.org/smpa/edupgms/default.asp .

About Heal the Bay

Heal the Bay is a nonprofit environmental organization making Southern California coastal waters and watersheds, including Santa Monica Bay, safe, healthy and clean. We use science, education, community action and advocacy to pursue our mission.

About Honda Helpful
Launched in January 2007, Honda Helpful is an inspiring multi-layered program representing over 57 dealers from various cities across Southern California. A collaborative effort between the Southern California Honda Dealers Association and creative agency, Secret Weapon Marketing, Honda Helpful serves to create a unified voice through an evergreen message: Helpful. Since its inception, the program has demonstrated its message in various ways, such as: providing assistance at homeless shelters with warm meals and care packages; sending Helpful tanker trucks to surprise motorists with complimentary gas; distributing reusable shopping bags at local farmers markets; scheduling umbrella escorts during rainy days; and visiting hardware stores and supermarkets to carry groceries and supplies for shoppers. For more information, visit www.SocalHonda.com

To view The Santa Monica Pier Aquarium's web page on Zoo and Aquarium Visitor, go to: http://www.zandavisitor.com/forumtopicdetail-125-Santa_Monica_Pier_Aquarium