Symbiotic relationships between wild marine animals will be one of the themes explored during Hugs and Fishes, the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher’s overnight lock-in for children during Valentine’s Day weekend.
The lock-ins, open to children ages 5 to 12, are planned for the nights of Feb. 13 and 14. Parents will drop their kids off at the aquarium at 6 p.m. and pick them up at 9 a.m. the next morning.
The aquarium already offers educational lock-in programs for scout troops and other similar groups, Weeks said, so it simply restructured the night’s activities to have a fun Valentine’s Day theme.
Weeks said the program will explore relationships like that of the sea anemone and clownfish.
“The clownfish will bring it food and eat … by the sea anemone and be protected by it, and then the sea anemone can get some of those pieces of food to eat,” she said. “The animals are kind of like ‘friends.’”
In addition to the educational programs, the night will include arts and crafts, scavenger hunts and animal bingo. The aquarium will also provide snacks, dinner and breakfast the next morning.
After the evening’s activities, boys and girls will be split up. One group will sleep beside the two-story Cape Fear Shoals tank filled with stingrays and sharks, and the other group will spend the night among jellyfish and tropical species in the Open Oceans Gallery.
“[The kids] love it,” Weeks said. “It’s like a big slumber party for them.”
This is the second annual Hugs and Fishes event. The 2014 event was so popular, Weeks said, they had to turn people away.
“Last year I planned it a month in advance, it was one of those last-minute ideas, and we got 30 kids in no time,” she said. “We ended up having 43 kids. … I thought this year with Valentine’s Day falling on a Saturday … we’ll go ahead and do two nights and keep our limit at 30 because when you get too many kids it can be chaotic.”
The children should bring sleeping bags or air mattresses, coed pajamas and toiletries. The cost is $55 per child. To register, visit ncaquariums.com
“The parents loved it, a lot of them were coming in, all dressed up because they were going out on their dates, so it was great,” Weeks said.
email [email protected]
