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Grunion Programs

The first of a series of "Meet the Grunion" programs begins in March and continues through July. Watch the silvery fish come up on the beach to spawn. Learn about grunion and the interesting mating rituals of this curious fish. The aquarium opens at 8 pm and an auditorium program begins at 9. Warm clothing and a flashlight are recommended. Tickets are $5/adults, $1 seniors, students and children, sold at the door. If you are planning to catch any fish during open season (March, June and July) grunion may be taken only by hand and a California fishing license, must be displayed, is required unless you are under 16 years of age. In closed season (April and May), grunion may not be taken, only observation of the spawning fish is allowed. In April we usually host a "Grunion Greeter" workshop for people who want to help with grunion research.
Volunteer Help interpret CMA's grunion research program to the public. Click Here for more information.

CMA Program dates and predicted times for the fish to run are:

March 2008 - Open Season
Sunday, March 9 from 10:15pm - 12:15am
Monday, March 24 from 10:15pm - 12:15am

April 2008 - Closed Season
Monday, April 7 from 10:40pm - 12:40am
Tuesday, April 22 from 10:35pm-12:35am

May 2008 - Closed Season
Wednesday, May 7 from 11:05pm - 1:05am
Wednesday, May 21 from 10:10pm - 12:10pm

June 2008 - Open Season
Thursday, June 5 from 10:55pm - 12:55am
Saturday, June 21 from 10:10pm - 12:10am

July 2008 - Open Season
No runs this week due to Fourth of July
Saturday, July 19 from 10:25pm - 12:25am

For more grunion information go to our CMA grunion article page, visit grunion.org which has been co-sponsoring "Grunion Greeter" workshops at CMA, link to the CA Department of Fish and Game website page on grunion or download a copy of their flyer.

Coastal Cleanup & Saltmarsh Open House

Keep it clean on International Coastal Cleanup/Adopt-A-Beach day, Saturday, September 15, 2007 from 9 am - 12 noon and help make a difference in the environment during the largest single day volunteer effort on the planet! Celebrate COASTWEEKS by joining CMA and a host of individuals and community groups in cleaning up the Coastal Park area at Cabrillo Beach. Meet on the outer beach at 9 am. We'll clean the coastline of Cabrillo Beach and the Point Fermin Marine Life Refuge and conclude the cleanup at noon. From 12 noon - 2 pm we'll have an open house and refreshments at the salt marsh, Salinas de San Pedro. Learn more about this unique habitat by using binoculars and microscopes to observe live animals. Examine plant and animal specimens from the CMA collections. This is a FREE activity. Groups please call the Education staff at 310-548-7562 x217 to reserve Cabrillo Beach parking.

Autumn Sea Fair

Celebrate the bounty of the sea on Sunday, October 21, 2007 from 10 am-4:30 pm with activities, organizations and fun for all--games, contests, music, marine-related exhibits, demonstrations, arts & crafts, films and videos. Enter our sand sculpture contest. Hunt for buried pirate treasure. Enter or help select the 2007 Queen of the Sea! Pack a picnic or purchase food and drink from one of our vendors. Admission to the fair is free. Beach parking ($1/hour) is limited, so we encourage you to use the free park-and-ride shuttle provided at 22nd and Miner Streets. For further information or to enter the Queen of the Sea contest, contact Larry Fukuhara at 310/548-7562 x223. Autumn Sea Fair is sponsored by FRIENDS of CMA and the Port of Los Angeles.

Click on the links below for the 2007 Sea Fair and Queen of the Sea flyers, available for download as Adobe Acrobat PDFs:
Sea Fair flyer (620 Kb)
Queen of the Sea flyer (1610 Kb)

Sea Fair 2006 Educational/Environmental Exhibitors included:
American Cetacean Society/L.A. Chapter, Bolsa Chica Foundation, Bird Rescue San Pedro, Cabrillo Whalewatch, California Dept. of Fish & Game, City of L.A. Stormwater Education Program, Coastguard Auxiliary, County Sanitation Districts of LA, Friends of Ballona Wetlands, Friends of the Elephant Seal, Friends of Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, Friends of the Sea Lion Marine Mammal Center, Heal the Bay, City of L.A. Environmental Monitoring Division, Huntington Beach Surf Museum, L.A. City Junior Lifeguards, L.A. Maritime Museum, Los Serenos de Point Vicente, Marine Mammal Care Center at Fort MacArthur, National Marine Fisheries Service, Port of Los Angeles, Reef Check, Santa Monica Baykeeper, Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, SS Lane Victory, US Environmental Protection Agency-NOAA-Montrose Settlements Restoration Program, US Fish & Wildlife Service.

Sea Scare!

Join us for our Halloween event on Saturday, October 27, 2007 from 6:30 - 9pm with a special early entry at 6pm for CMA FRIENDS members.

It’s back! Once again CMA will be transformed into a world of thrills, chills and gills for its annual night-time Halloween event. Come in costume and scare up some goodies as you trick or treat throughout the Aquarium; Apparitional Activities, Creepy Crafts, Dreadful Demonstrations and Eerie Entertainment await as you explore this family-friendly night-time event.

Admission is $5 for Adults and $1 for Children and Seniors, at the door. CMA FRIENDS members are free with a special early entry at 6pm.

Click here for the Sea Scare web page.
For more information about the "Scare after the Fair" please email or call Joey Pallares at 548-7562, x345.

Click on the link below for the 2007 Sea Scare press release.
Sea Scare PR

2008 Chinese New Year Spectacular at Nokia Theatre

This Chinese New Year, experience something you have never before. Let New Tang Dynasty Television's Chinese New Year Spectacular transport you across time and space to the world of China's legendary golden age - the Tang Dynasty. Immerse in a night of mesmerizing artistry evoking the beauty and grandeur of ancient traditional Chinese culture – from the soulful poignancy of the two-stringed ErHu to the exhilarating drums, from the delicate femininity of the dancing Dai girls to the mythical dragons. January 18-20, 2008.

Get 10% off with coupon code "Cabrillo." 10% of your ticket purchase will be donated to Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. To purchase tickets, go to http://ticket.ntdtv.com/la. For more information about the Chinese New Year Spectacular, visit www.laspectacular.com or call
800-817-7116.

Click here for the poster image.

Whale Fiesta (January)

Join us for tons of fun as we celebrate the migration of the Pacific Gray Whale past our shores and the start of the Whalewatch season with the building of a life-sized Gray Whale out of sand at the annual Whale Fiesta on Sunday, January 27, 2008 from 10 am to 4:30 pm. Co-sponsored by CMA and the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Cetacean Society, it's a family day filled with activities and exhibits for all. In addition to our famous Duct Tape Whale Sculpture Contest and the Great Cetacean Creation Sand Sculpture Contest on the beach, we'll have games, arts and crafts, puppet shows for children of all ages, talks by whale experts, food and gift vendors, marine awareness organizations and music! Admission is free and a free park and ride shuttle is available at 22nd and Miner Streets (at the end of Harbor Blvd.). For more information, click here for the Whale Fiesta page or call Larry Fukuhara at 548-7562, x223.

Earth Day Fair (April, 19 2008)

Celebrate our ocean planet with a beach cleanup and courtyard activities including music, children's activities and displays and information from a wide range of local and national environmental groups and government agencies.

Enter the Earth Day Fair Poster Contest
Click Here to download the flier and information on how to enter
This contest is open to all!

Earth Day Fair

Celebrate with a party for our ocean planet on Saturday, April 19, 2008 with a Cabrillo Beach clean-up from 8-10 am. Meet on the outer beach by our banners and canopies. Supplies and refreshments will be provided. Learn more about the environment with representatives of over 40 local and national environmental organizations and government agencies in the CMA courtyard from 10 am - 3:30 pm. Find out how you can get involved and have fun through children’s activities, a native garden walk and wetland/salt marsh open house at Salinas de San Pedro, grunion egg hatching and presentations in our auditorium. Earth Day Poster contest winners will be announced at 1pm. We'll also have live music! (TBA)

The day will include activities for children of all ages, guided walks to our adjacent salt marsh, Salinas de San Pedro, and much, much more! Admission to the Fair and Aquarium, Exploration Center, Aquatic Nursery and the Virginia Reid Moore Marine Research Library is FREE. The Aquarium will be open to visitors from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Beach parking is $1.00/hour for cars or catch the free parking and a Cabrillo Beach shuttle from the lot at 22nd Street and Miner near the Marina terminal of the Port of Los Angeles Waterfront Red Car Line, share a ride, walk or bike it! Help Us Celebrate the Earth!

Click here for the 2008 Earth Day flyer.
For further information contact Linda Chilton at 310/548-7562 x217.

Groups which will display, demonstrate and distribute information and materials include: The Algalita Marine Research Foundation, American Association of University Women, American Cetacean Society-Los Angeles Chapter, California Coastal Commission, California Conservation Corps, California Native Plant Society - South Coast Chapter, City of Los Angeles Dept. of Public Works-Bureau of Sanitation and Public Affairs Dept., City of Los Angeles Environmental Monitoring Division, the Office of Community Beautification, Recycling Division and Stormwater Programs, County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works-Operation Clean Sweep, Deane Dana Friendship Nature Center, D.I.V.E.R.S., Earthjustice, Ecology Center of Southern California, Environmental Priorities Network, Friends of Bolsa Chica Foundation, FRIENDS of Cabrillo Marine Aquarium , Friends of the Los Angeles River, Friends of Madrona Marsh, George F. Canyon Nature Center, Heal the Bay, Heifer International, International Bird Rescue Research Center, Izaak Walton League - San Pedro Chapter, J. Paul Getty Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Los Angeles Conservation Corps - Clean and Green, Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors, Los Serenos de Point Vicente-Point Vicente Interpretive Center, Marine Mammal Care Center at Fort MacArthur, Marine Spill Response Corp., Natural Landscapes, Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy, Palos Verdes/South Bay Audubon Society, Port of Los Angeles, Roots and Shoots, Santa Monica Baykeeper, San Pedro Garden Club, Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County, Save the Manatee Foundation, Sierra Club-PV/South Bay Chapter, South Bay Greens, Southern California Marine Institute, TreePeople, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary-Flotilla 38, Water Replenishment District of Southern California.

Sponsors include: Las Candalistas Danny Croft Memorial Fund through FRIENDS of Cabrillo Marine Aquarium and Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn. Last year, the Croft family placed a sundial in our Courtyard in memory of Danny and his passion for recycling and the environment.

In 2006 we were extremely honored to have a number of notable visitors to our Earth Day events:

Councilwoman Janice Hahn joined us on the beach for the cleanup and Congresswoman Jane Harman visited with our exhibitors and visitors in the CMA courtyard and our new facilities.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger visited our Cabrillo Beach cleanup with First Lady Maria Shriver and their family. Mr. Schwarzenegger delivered an environmental message for Earth Day. You can read his press release via the Governors home page.

Shark Week 2007

Experience Shark Week at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium where you can get eye to eye with live sharks and rays of Southern California and learn about their lives in the Susanne Lawrenz-Miller Exhibit Hall. Special plans for Shark Week (July 29 – August 4) include:
• Fun activities like shark wordoku, displays of books and specimens of sharks and rays and enter our "shark tank" if you dare in the Virginia Reid Moore Marine Research Library upstairs
• Using microscopes to investigate shark biofacts and specimens as well as shark games and activities in the Exploration Center
• Views of research being conducted on the growth of baby sharks in the Aquatic Nursery
• Highlights of the lives of sharks and rays in the Discovery Lab on Wednesday, August 1 from 3-5 pm
• Daily showing of “Sharks: a New Look” multi-media show in the John M. Olguin Auditorium
• Lecture by our resident staff shark expert Jeff Landesman on Saturday afternoon
• Giveaways of Discovery Channel Shark books and Top Trumps Shark cards as long as supplies last!
At Cabrillo Marine Aquarium you can see why sharks are not just the fearsome, deadly predators they are so often made out to be. Come learn about these magnificent ocean residents and how they are more threatened by us.

Follow this link to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums page of Shark week events. Or here for the Discovery Channel's Shark Week 20th anniversary pages.

Endangered Species Day

Saturday, May 17
Visit Cabrillo Marine Aquarium on May 17, Endangered Species Day, to learn about marine animals that have been placed on the endangered species list and how they are fairing today. Start the day with a guided tidepool walk (8:30am), then join in a scavenger hunt, special story time and more!

Sizzlin' Summer Sandcastle Day!

Saturday, July 26
Do you remember building your first sandcastle? Relive those easy breezy days at CMA's Sizzlin' Summer Sandclastle Day. Bring your little shovel, a bucket and your creativity and claim a plot!
Fee: FREE and open to everyone

Friends Special Event - Grand Grunion Gala
Saturday, May 10, 2008 at 6pm
Enjoy an elegant evening at our annual black-tie fundraiser. This year, the Aquarium will present three awards:

• John M. Olguin Marine Environment Award recipient is Southern California Gas Company
• Leadership Award recipient isValero Wilmington Refinery
These companies were selected on the basis of their notable achievments in adherence of the award's criteria.
• Dr. Susanne Lawrenz-Miller Education Award to Alisa Schulman-Janiger for making significant contributions to ocean-science education in the Southern California area.

For more information about Gala tickets, auction donations or how you can help, contact Friends of CMA Executive Director Paula Moore at 310-548-8396. Click here for the 2008 Gala page.

For other FRIENDS lectures and events, see the Lectures page.

For annual boat trips, see the Voyages page.

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