Brooklyn, NY, December 2008 -- Pack a punch into your holidays with a visit to Alien Stingers! Warm up with wildlife of the Caribbean at Glover’s Reef! The New York Aquarium is the perfect destination for you and your family to visit this winter. Here are ten reasons why.

Top Ten Reasons to Visit the Aquarium This Winter

10. Warm up on the tropical side of Coney Island

The Aquarium’s Glover’s Reef features moray eels, rays, and more than 35 other sea creatures in a Caribbean coral reef ecosystem.

9. Daily live performances

Aquatheater sea lion training shows occur year-round and star a crew of thick-skinned marine mammals that don’t let the cold hamper their graceful moves.

8. Blubber makes it better

Pacific walruses, northern fur seals, and other residents of the Sea Cliffs habitat will remind you that the New York City cold isn’t so bad!

7. …But on a cold day, it may be best viewed indoors

If even the thought of penguins and walruses leaves you cold, you can choose to view them from behind glass in the indoor portion of Sea Cliffs. You can even see them eat lunch!

6. Winter walks on the beach can be very romantic

…Especially if you’ve got a warm hand to hold as you stroll down the bit of Atlantic coastline just outside the New York Aquarium’s gates … and then warm up inside one of the Aquarium’s exhibits!

5. Pack some punch into your holidays

Visit Alien Stingers, our home for sea jellies. These mysterious creatures of the deep will wow you with their otherworldly beauty. The New York Aquarium is one of the only aquariums in North America to permanently feature jellyfish.

4. Meet the sixth marine mammal

No, we’re not talking about mermaids, but scuba divers! The volunteer divers who clean our tanks wearing full-face masks fitted with speaking devices. You can ask them questions through a microphone and the divers will talk back from underwater! Catch them on weekends.

3. Holiday shopping for the fish in your family

The Oceanic Gift Shop is the perfect place to pick up a little something for the marine-life lovers on your list!

2. Beat the winter blues with fun after-school (or after-work) programs

Fins and Feathers, Behind-the-Scenes tours, Shark-A-Rama!…the Aquarium’s Education Department offers programs for sea-life fans of all ages. (And a great holiday gift too!)

1. Think wet…but stay dry

You won’t need a bathing suit to explore the wonders of water at the Aquarium. Stay dry as a bone as a 400-gallon tidal wave crashes over your head, touch sea stars and other sea creatures in an open tank, and get an underwater view of a living salt marsh in our Explore the Shore exhibit.

A Wildlife Conservation Society park, the New York Aquarium, opens every day of the year at 10am, and closing times vary seasonally. Admission is $13.00 for adults, $9.00 for children ages 3-12 and $10.00 for senior citizens (65 and older); children under 3 years of age are admitted free. Fridays after 3 p.m., admission is by suggested donation. The Aquarium is located on Surf Avenue at West 8th Street in Coney Island. For directions, information on public events and programs, and other Aquarium information, call 718-265-FISH or visit our web site at http://www.nyaquarium.com. Now is the perfect time to visit and show support for the New York Aquarium, Brooklyn’s most heavily attended attraction and a beloved part of the City of New York.

The Wildlife Conservation Society

The Wildlife Conservation Society saves wildlife and wild places worldwide.  We do so through science, global conservation, education and the management of the world's largest system of urban wildlife parks, led by the flagship Bronx Zoo.  Together these activities change attitudes towards nature and help people imagine wildlife and humans living in harmony.  WCS is committed to this mission because it is essential to the integrity of life on Earth.

make donations in support of helping save wildlife and wild places, please direct them to www.wcs.org/donation.