Baltimore, MD (September 28, 2009)- The National Aquarium is proud to welcome the Ocean Today Kiosk, a small version of the Smithsonian’s new Sant Ocean Hall exhibit, to Baltimore. Designed to reveal a portion of the information from the exhibit that opened Friday, September 26, the interactive kiosk features ocean news and videos from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), a regional news feed, and important ocean conservation information.

The National Aquarium is one of five Aquariums from the Coastal Ecosystem Learning Centers Network (CELC) chosen to house this interactive kiosk. Other participating learning centers include Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, Calif., National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, and the J.L. Scott Marine Education Center in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.  Since news of the kiosks, Panasonic Corporation has volunteered to provide coverage to the rest of the CELC and their 25 million visitors including the locations in the US, Mexico and Japan.

To celebrate the opening of the Ocean Hall exhibit, Coastal America and the CELC held an art contest for children from kindergarten through college. The original art was chosen from 22 regional Aquariums in the CELC and then by a national panel of representatives for science, art and Smithsonian.

20 winners were selected based on creativity, artistry and skills on raising awareness for ocean health. Two of these lucky students were Maryland residents, Zoe Maliszewskyj from Middletown and Karen Chen from Ellicott City. Both students were 3rd place winners in their age groups. Their artwork will be displayed in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of National History from December- March.  

The Ocean Today Kiosk will aid in the National Aquarium’s mission to inspire people to enjoy, respect, and protect the Aquatic world. As a member of Coastal America’s CELC network, the National Aquarium works to spread knowledge to the public about the conservation and health of the world’s oceans.

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